Adbert Alzolay was the Cubs number one prospect heading into the 2018 season. After a breakout season in 2017, Alzolay was on Theo Epstein's radar, as the Cubs president of baseball operations pegged the right-handed pitcher to be the next young phenom in the Cubs starting rotation for years to come. The last calendar year hasn't gone to plan and now Alzolay is starting spring training with a minor setback.
The 23-year-old missed the majority of 2018, after being diagnosed with a strained lat. Now Alzolay will be two weeks behind to begin spring training after feeling something on his right side.
Alzolay had a delayed start to his 2018 season, as he stayed back in Arizona to build up his arm strength. He made his season debut with the Iowa Cubs on April 20, and was actually going to make his MLB debut against the Reds in the middle of May. However, because of a rain out in Atlanta the rotation got an extra day off negating the need for Alzolay in a Saturday double header. Alzolay ended up making eight starts at Triple-A before he went down with the lat strain in late May. He was first ruled out at least through the all-star break and then in June he was officially shut down for the rest of the year. It was a 2018 season to forget for the prospect, as Alzolay had a 4.76 ERA in 39.2 innings, plus the season-ending surgery. That was after he made 22 starts at Single and Double-A in 2017, when he recorded a 2.99 ERA in 114.1 innings and was a top-100 prospect. Despite the minor setback it is only Feb. 12. The Cubs have already talked about being cautious with Alzolay in 2019, so anything small will be monitored closely. The Cubs are hoping Alzolay can eventually get the call up this year, maybe as soon as the summer, but definitely make a contribution in September. So, fingers crossed for Adbert.
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