The Cubs’ Bullpen is on Quite a Roll, Leiter and Neris, Davis, Smyly’s Rehab, and Other Cubs Bullets

I have been doing physical therapy for my back once I fully recovered from the surgery, and I am learning so much more about how to better take care of my back. It makes me so mad I didn’t seek this out ten years ago when I started “throwing out my back” (whatever that even actually means) every other month. Please, learn from my mistake: if you have back issues, don’t just assume they have to be part of your daily life. See a doctor, and get yourself into some kind of therapy if possible.

  • A lot goes into a win like last night’s, but it’s hard not to focus on the bullpen when they shut out the Braves, with the wind blowing out, for 5.1 innings:
  • (As an aside, Nico Hoerner definitely talks like a future front office exec.)
  • Truly, all of Tyson Miller (very easy to see why righties are terrible against him), Hayden Wesneski (doing such an incredible job bouncing around roles), Hector Neris (no walks!), and Luke Little (confidence is rising) had great nights, but Mark Leiter Jr. was especially a BOSS:
  • Leiter’s 0.90 ERA is 9th best in baseball. His 2.24 FIP is 17th. He’s been one of the best relievers in baseball this season, full stop. When he has his splitter available, it just makes the entire repertoire so much better (plus, you know, that’s a devastating pitch).
  • I chuckled:
  • Hector Neris continues to lead, this time with gold star-like ‘W’ flags:
  • It’s kind of like getting helmet stickers. Maybe it seems small and/or cheesy, but I think this is kinda fun. Also, I have to reiterate how uncommon it is for a relief pitcher to emerge as a leader for the overall team. Neris is pretty special and unique in that regard.
  • On the year, the Cubs’ bullpen has a 4.06 ERA, which is 19th in baseball – bad, but not abysmal. Interestingly, despite all the injuries, here’s what is happening as roles become more and more clearly defined and usage becomes more steady: since the start of May, the team’s bullpen ERA is just 3.29, 11th in baseball. Now the big one: Since May 14, the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen ERA is just 0.68, the best in baseball by a mile.
  • The bullpen could get a boost relatively soon, too, as Drew Smyly is already able to throw three innings. His first rehab outing at South Bend was just him cruising:
  • Smyly threw 40 pitches, which is already close to where you’d want him for a swing role. I don’t think he’s going to be fully stretched out to start, but it is slightly interesting that the Cubs COULD initially bring him back for just one start – buying a rest day for everyone else – and then put him in the bullpen. Then again, with Kyle Hendricks out of the rotation, it’s also possible Smyly does go into the rotation until Jordan Wicks is back. (I had kinda been thinking that would be Ben Brown or Hayden Wesneski, though the latter just pitched a pure relief inning.)
  • This screenshot made me chuckle:
  • Brennen Davis is up to nearly two weeks of putting up the following hilarious slash line: .452/.605/1.161/315 wRC+. It isn’t going to take much longer of him performing at an above-average level (not even close to THIS level, just above) before you do start to have to ask when it might be time to give him big league run and see if the heat carries over.
  • Meanwhile, Davis’s newly-arrived outfield-mate Pete Crow-Armstrong immediately reported to Iowa after being optioned, and immediately homered.
  • Shota Imanaga is a Chicago sports star:
  • This is undoubtedly incredibly impressive, though I do have a follow-up comment:
  • There were 24(!!!) batted balls in that Pirates-Giants game over 100 mph. Combine that with Cruz doing something so extreme twice in the same game, I can’t help but wonder if that batch of balls was just a little extra springy. We know there are variations from box to box, and this just seems so extreme that it would be a pretty good explanation.
  • I might try to do a more dedicated post on this at some point because it’s all so fascinating, but in the meantime, I highly recommend this read on relievers, the arbitration system, and Josh Hader’s usage:
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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