Cubs Promote Their Nastiest Pitching Prospect

Randy Rosario's time with the Cubs didn't seem like it was going to last long after his most recent demotion and following his five straight balls that made Joe Maddon take him out against the Dodgers on Thursday, the lefty has been sent down to Iowa. Taking his spot in the bullpen is the nastiest pitching prospect for the Cubs.

Right-hander Dillon Maples is back up in the majors.

There is no doubt that Maples has incredible stuff, throwing his fastball in the mid to upper 90s and he has one of the filthiest sliders in the game.

Here he was striking out three batters against LA in 2018, all with sliders.

However, Maples has struggled finding the strike zone at the MLB level. In 10.2 innings with the Cubs Maples has walked 11 and given up 13 runs on 13 hits. Yet, during his times up he's struck out 20 batters.

In 292.1 minor league innings the righty has struck out 351 and walked 200, recording a 4.28 ERA in 183 games. So far this season at Iowa Maples has 16 strikeouts and 8 walks in eight innings. He is trending in the right direction, though, as Maples has only walked one batter in his last four outings, covering 5.1 innings, striking out nine.

So, hopefully Maples finally has figured out his command and control issues. If he has, or if it's at least not the worst, Maples could be a surprising weapon in the Cubs bullpen.