The Third Cut is the Pitcher’iest: Five Pitchers Sent to Minor League Camp
Today the Chicago Cubs trimmed their camp roster to 51, sending out five pitchers.
No surprises in this group, with only Jeremiah Estrada having come to camp with an outside shot at winning a bullpen job:
We talked a lot about Kilian this morning, and we are likely to see him sometime this year. As for Estrada, we know he’ll be back, but the ability to option him to Iowa for now to continue his development is a valuable thing. Eventually, I suspect he’ll cement himself as a mainstay in the big league bullpen, but when you have as much volume as the Cubs do, it can be an up-down process.
As for Horn, the lefty relief prospect could find his way to the big leagues in the next year or two, as he’s got the stuff. It’s just that command part that will need work. Neidert and Stout are in on minor league deals, and could find their way to Iowa to open the season as starting and relief depth, respectively.
