A bi-weekly assessment of how confident I’m feeling when the Cubs call on each member of their bullpen. These assessments are typically based on gut feel, not on the numbers.
Highlights/Low-lights this week are the Keller mini-meltdown, Pomeranz gave up a run, Wicks is back (but for how long), and everyone else continues to shine. The bullpen is currently 9 men, as they determine what to do with Taillon’s spot in the rotation.
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):
–Brad Keller – Well, it was bound to happen. He’s been excellent for two months straight, but a bad inning against the Cardinals cost the Cubs a sweep. Still, I’m going to keep him in the top tier until he falters again.
Wisps of gray hair (high confidence):
–Caleb Thielbar – Still chugging along with his great curveball, 1.89 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. The Cubs did very well with their signings of left-handed pitchers this past off-season.
–Daniel Palencia – He gave up a run the other night, but still managed to lock down the save. There has been talk that the Cubs should trade for an established closer, but I’m just not sure about that. Obviously, the Cubs have a track record with Aroldis Chapman, but I feel like it is not as big of a need this season. I’m also remembering Josh Hader, and his 7.11 ERA with the Padres after they acquired him in 2022.
–Chris Flexen – It will be interesting to see what the Cubs do with Flexen. He mislocated an 0-2 pitch the other day, which allowed a couple of inherited runners to score. But his ERA is at 0.83 and WHIP is 0.86. With Taillon out for a month, I wonder if the Cubs have considered stretching Flexen out a little more to try to take those starts – especially until they trade for a starter. I see 3 games before the trade deadline where the Cubs need to fill that spot in the rotation, and I doubt they’d want to do bullpen games for all 3. but who knows…it might be Brown coming back up, it might be Wicks, it might be Flexen or it might be a bullpen game.
–Ryan Brasier – Finally moving Brasier up with his 1.22 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. If the Cubs did trade for another bullpen arm, he might be an odd-man out. But he’s done so well, I just don’t see it.
–Drew Pomeranz – He’s been giving up baserunners lately, including a rocky opening inning as an opener. Not enough to move him down, but hopefully, this is not a trend.
Some gray hair (medium confidence):
–Ryan Pressley – He’s been giving up baserunners, but not runs. He has not allowed a run in his last 6 outings, but his whip is still at 1.47. Logically, he would be the first guy replaced if the Cubs traded for a reliever. But would they pull the trigger on a high profile player who’s been performing relatively well?
–Porter Hodge – He’s looks pretty good since his return, in mostly low-leverage situations. He did get a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts in a game the Cubs were down by only 2 runs. It would be great if he could get back into the role of primary setup man, to take a little of the pressure off of Keller.
Lots of gray hair (low confidence)
–Jordan Wicks – When he was called up to replace Taillon, I thought he might be starting, But Counsell went with a bullpen game instead, and Wicks didn’t even pitch that day. A big lead on Sunday allowed Wicks to get a few low-leverage innings in. But I still need to see more. The question is whether he will be given the chance to stick around, or he will be part of a mini taxi-service from AAA.
No hair left (no confidence)
No one here at the moment
Not Applicable (minors or injured):
–Nate Pearson – AAA
–Gavin Hollowell – AAA
–Tom Cosgrove – AAA
–Tyson Miller – AAA
–Ethan Roberts – AAA
–Luke Little – AAA
–Eli Morgan – IL – Still on 60-day IL, but got a positive second opinion about his elbow
–Brooks Kriske – AAA
Released/DFA’d
–Michael Fulmer – Fulmer got two big league games with the Cubs in then went on his way. Some relievers in the majors seem to be viewed as disposable – like a daily contact lens. He moved on to a minor league deal with the Royals, where he would seem to have a better shot of getting called back up to the majors.
Cubs in 7 
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