The predicted Chad Fox elbow supernova happened, and so he heads to his home away from home, the disabled list, and the Cubs have called up young righty Jose Ascanio from AAA Iowa to replace him in the pen.
Ascanio was in Iowa’s starting rotation, going 1-1 with a 1.01 ERA and a WHIP of 0.94. In 26 2-3 innings, he gave up 18 hits while walking seven and striking out 26. The Cubs obtained the 24-year-old righty from Atlanta in a Dec. 4, 2007 trade for Will Ohman and Omar Infante. He pitched in 6 games last year with the Cubs, going 0-0 with a 7.94 ERA. The Cubs like his changeup, and they put him in Iowa’s rotation to round out his repertoire. DailyHerald.com Blogs.
Ascanio was a highly touted prospect two years ago, and struggled a bit last year. Obviously he’s dominated the minors this year, as he starts to out-age his competition. Let’s see how he does now – the pen could sure use a guy who can throw strikes.