Cubs Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - April 2024

[Seth Stohs]

Our final award for April is the minor league relief pitcher of the month. Finally. Sure looks like the Smokies have a few guys who throw absolute throat. 

Image courtesy of Tennessee Smokies

Often relief pitchers are overlooked. They aren't often talked about at any level unless they don't do their job. That's a tough spot. So when they have some extended success, they deserve to be recognized. Today, we will highlight the top four relief pitchers in the Cubs minor league system. Before we get to them, there are several pitchers that we'll mention honorably first. 

Honorable Mentions

• RHP Joe Nahas - South Bend Cubs - 6 G, 2.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 11 K
• LHP Chase Watkins - South Bend Cubs - 7 G, 2.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 11 IP, 7 H, 7 BB, 17 K
• RHP Brad Wieck - Iowa Cubs - 8 G, 1.54 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 15 K
• RHP Porter Hodge - Tennessee Smokies/Iowa Cubs - 7 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 17 K  

Top Four Relief Pitchers for April 2024

#4. RHP Eduarniel Nunez - Tennessee Smokies - 6 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 9 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K
Nunez has been around the Cubs a long time, going all the way back to when he signed as a 17-year-old in 2016 from the Dominican Republic. He moved up the ladder one step at a time early in his career. In 2017, he pitched in the DSL. In 2018, he pitched in the Arizona League. In 2019, he moved up to Eugene, the team’s Advanced Rookie League team. Of course, like all minor leaguers, he missed the entire 2020 season. In 2021, he pitched in seven games for Low-A Myrtle Beach and then in 28 games for the South Bend Cubs. In 35 innings there, he gave up 31 hits, walked 33 batters and struck out 37 batters. That has been his biggest issue throughout his professional career. In 2022, at South Bend (35 games) and Tennessee (18 games), he gave up a combined 53 hits, walked 39 and struck out 57 batters in 55 2/3 innings. He split the 2023 season between those two affiliates again and he had 32 walks and 61 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. 

Clearly, he has some very good stuff. He can miss a lot of bats, and maybe some of that is because of how wild that he can be at times. Effectively wild, one might say. Nunez throws gas. He sits at 98 mph, which is incredible, and he tops out just above 100. . He has a breaking ball that often seemingly breaks twice, on two planes. It looks and acts like a curveball, as opposed to a slider There are even times when he has a promising changeup. In reality, it’s only his control that has slowed him. With the stuff he has, the command isn’t quite as important as control just because it’s so difficult to make solid contact. 

He is currently not on the 40-man roster, but he’s also the kind of talent that a team really wants to keep working with and not lose. 

3. RHP Colten Brewer - Iowa Cubs - 6 G, 1.17 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K
A good reminder that these monthly awards articles are based on performance. They are not prospect rankings. Brewer, a 31-year-old veteran with over two years of MLB service time, is a good example of that. He was a fourth-round pick in 2011 out of high school. He made his MLB debut in 2018 with 11 games for the Padres. Between 2019 and 2021, he pitched in 70 games for the Red Sox. He didn’t pitch in the big leagues at all in 2021 and surfaced with the Yankees for three games and 8 1/3 innings in 2023.

Even this year, he has pitched 10 2/3 innings over six appearances for the Cubs. In two, early-May MLB appearances, he gave up zero runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings. No walks. Four strikeouts. If you want, you can add those numbers to his minor-league numbers at Triple-A shown above. There is a decent chance that Brewer will make plenty of trips between Des Moines and Chicago this season. 

2. RHP Michael Arias - Tennessee Smokies - 7 G, 0.71 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 15 K   
Last November, the Cubs added Michael Arias to their 40-man roster. It was a surprise to many. To those that see his upside and potential, it made a lot of sense. For those that remember that he was initially signed by the Blue Jays, as a shortstop, from the Dominican Republic in 2018, it was likely shocking. However, in 2023, he made 11 starts for Myrtle Beach and 11 starts at South Bend. In Low-A, he went 1-4 with a 2.55 ERA. In High-A, he went 0-6 with a 5.77 ERA. In a combined 81 1/3 innings, he had 110 strikeouts but also 51 walks. Again, those are not the numbers that scream “40-man roster!!” 

However, Arias has been intriguing since joining the Cubs and transitioning to the mound. The 22-year-old is long and lean and has a huge arm. He worked consistently in the mid-to-upper 90s as a starter. Now that he’s working out of the bullpen, those numbers will only go up. Because of a lower release point, he gets good sink on his fastball. Between his velocity and the movement that he gets, you can imagine the intrigue. Arias also throws an impressive upper-80s changeup that also divers and fades. He’s also throwing a slider that is just getting better and better. 

That brings us to this year. He has now moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen where his already good stuff should only play up. He will need to continue to improve his control and command, but in April, his walk rate is down to 12.1% Not great, but he’s been at about 14.5% the last couple of seasons. 

1. RHP Frankie Scalzo, Jr - Tennessee Smokies - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Frankie Scalzo joined the Cubs organization in 2021 after they made him their 14th round draft pick out of Grand Canyon University. In that 2021 season, he pitched in 25 games and had 12 saves. After signing, he pitched in one ACL game and five games for Myrtle Beach. That’s where he began the 2022 season. He spent the full season in Low-A ball, but in just 23 games and 44 2/3 innings, he had 25 walks (which is too many) but also had 64 strikeouts (a strong 12.9 K/9). He missed time with some injury. 

He began the 2022 season at South Bend. In 35 games and 66 1/3 innings, he went 4-4 with eight saves. He had 64 strikeouts to just 21 walks. He ended the season with four games in Tennessee. And that is where he began this season. He pitched in seven games in April and finished six of them. He was 4-for-4 in Save opportunities. While he isn’t getting a lot of strikeouts, he has been limiting hits and much improved his walk rate. In April, batters hit .097/.125/.097 (.222). 

Scalzo has some really good stuff that should miss some more bats. He has a big fastball in the upper-90s. He also throws a slider. Both are solid pitches and have limited hard contact.

---

Join us in congratulating these talented pitchers, and share your thoughts on them or others that you think should be added or moved up this list. 

A quick look back to last September, and we are reminded that Arias, Nunez and Scalzo were part of a combined no-hitter for the South Bend Cubs! All three have certainly started out the 2024 season strong.  

 

View full article