NEWSLETTER
The Cubs are giving us a late-night cookie:
Maddon: Tim Collins DFA’d, prospect Adbert Alzolay will be recalled Thursday. Will back up Chatwood out of bullpen.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 20, 2019
During Joe Maddon’s post-game press conference after the Cubs’ 7-3 win against the White Sox, the Cubs skipper announced top prospect Adbert Alzolay would be recalled for Thursday’s game against the Mets. The plan is to have Alzolay piggy-back behind Tyler Chatwood, who was tabbed to start in place of Kyle Hendricks, who is on the injured list with a shoulder problem. To make room for Alzolay on the roster, lefty reliever Tim Collins will be designated for assignment.
Alzolay is the team’s top-ranked pitching prospect at MLB Pipeline and No. 4 overall in the Cubs’ system. The 24-year-old has been throwing smoke for Triple-A Iowa. On top of having a 2-1 record and 3.09 ERA in six starts for the I-Cubs, Alzolay has struck out out 46 batters in 32 innings, while walking just six. Those numbers come out to a 36.5 K% and 4.8 BB%. With ratios like that, there was no denying Alzolay had pitched his way into the conversation of being ready for the big leagues. Tomorrow, he’ll get his chance..
This seems like an ideal situation for Alzolay to get the call. He’ll get to toe the rubber at home against a Mets offense that owns a 98 wRC+ and .314 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season, which puts them in the middle of the pack as far as those offensive metrics are concerned. It’s as low-pressure of a situation as you could draw up for a rookie making his big league debut.
Good luck, kid. And welcome to The Show!
