How I am feeling about the Cubs bullpen at this moment.
Not as much churn this week with the Cubs’ bullpen. They did fairly well against some lesser competition – with one exception.
Red means a player has dropped
Green a player has moved up
Blue a player stayed the same
Orange the player is new
No gray hair (extremely high confidence):
No one yet, but Hodge is close.
Wisps of gray hair (high confidence):
–Porter Hodge – He was only used twice this week, with neither being a save situation. It remains to be seen if he can hold down the role this whole season.
–Brad Keller – He continues to be the most reliable player in the bullpen, with 3 appearances, 3 innings, 1 hit and 1 walk allowed. At this point, I think he’s become the primary setup man.
-Caleb Thielbar – Back from paternity leave, he continues to be great against lefties, and solid overall.
–Daniel Palencia – Probably should have moved him up earlier, as he continues to get outs. Surrendered 2 hits and 1 walk in 3.1 innings, getting 4 Ks. Not yet dominant, but his perfromance has really solidified the bullpen this season.
Some gray hair (medium confidence):
-Ryan Pressley – He had a couple decent outings in his new role. He was bought on in a big spot in the Cubs comeback win against Miami, and struck out the only hitter he faced.
–Drew Pomeranz – The Cubs bloggers out there are asking whether this is real. He still hasn’t given up a run in 10 innings, although he did give up 2 hits in 3 appearances this week. It may not be real, but might as well keep using him to find out.
–Chris Flexen – The long man of the bullpen, he was only needed once this past week to pitch 2 innings against the Marlins. With Ben Brown and Cade Horton typically needing at least 5 innings of bullpen help, Flexen will still be necessary.
Lots of gray hair (low confidence)
–Julian Merryweather – He was the only reliever to give up a run this week – 2 to the Marlins in the Justin Turner comeback game, and 1 to the White Sox when closing out the game on Sunday. At this point, he might just be available for mop-up duty until he can show some improvement.
No hair left (no confidence)
Not Applicable (minors or injured):
-Gavin Hollowell – No runs given up in 3 appearances – looking very good in 2 of them. He somehow gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning without giving up a run (a single to load the bases followed by a 5-2-3 double play to nail a runne at the plate made it possible). With Miller’s imminent return — and Thielbar coming back from Paternity leave — his recent stint in the major league bullpen may be another short one.
-Tom Cosgrove – AAA
-Tyson Miller – IL – moved to the 60-day IL after getting hit on the leg with a comebacker. He seemed poised to joined the major league club before the setback.
-Ryan Brasier – IL – has more time left in the minors for his rehab. Barring injury, or a move regarding Merryweather, I’d expect him to get several more outing at Iowa.
-Jordan Wicks – AAA
–Ethan Roberts – AAA
-Luke Little – AAA
-Nate Pearson – AAA
-Eli Morgan – IL – Moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Cade Horton
Cubs in 7 
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