After Sunday night’s game, where Randy Rosario had to relieve Tyler Chatwood in the third inning and then threw two solid innings (35 pitches) himself, it was pretty clear that the Cubs would need a bullpen reinforcement. That’s especially true since Mike Montgomery, Monday’s starter against the Pirates, might be on a pitch limit.
Here was the first clue as to who would be the next guy in line:
It's official: Luke Farrell scratched from his start today with the Iowa #Cubs.
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) May 27, 2018
And now, it’s official:
Luke Farrell up, Hancock optioned
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) May 28, 2018
Luke Farrell has made six appearances for the Cubs this year. The first three were good: 3⅓ innings, seven strikeouts, 0.00 ERA. The last three, not so much: 2⅓ innings, 3.858 (!) WHIP, 19.29 (!) ERA. Farrell has talent and over his last two starts at Iowa: 10 innings, 0.70 WHIP, 2.70 ERA, 11 strikeouts.
No doubt, Justin Hancock will be back. He allowed a couple of runs in his first major-league outing, but since then was lights-out: 8⅔ innings, 0.923 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts. Joe Maddon loves his fastball, which sits at 97-98 miles per hour. He’ll be a useful part of this bullpen going forward.
Rosario, who threw those 35 pitches Sunday night, is probably not available today, but he also impressed Joe in spring training and the Cubs can surely use a good lefthanded arm later in this series.