Former Top Prospect Is Finally Getting His Shot

The Cubs suffered an extremely frustrating four-game sweep at the hands of the last place Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. The bullpen is in shambles, the rotation regulars keep hitting a middle-inning wall, and Kris Bryant might be hurt. The Joe Maddon era has been nothing short of incredible, but mid-June through the all-star break has been the worst stretch of the season for the Cubs every year of his tenure.

We are now in the midst of that grueling stretch and things don't get any easier tonight as the Cubs kick off a four-game set in LA against a red-hot Dodgers team, with a rookie pitcher making his major league debut for the Cubs tonight.

For those of you who may have forgotten, Underwood was a major prospect the first few years that he was in the system. Drafted as a 17-year-old in 2012, Underwood spent the next three seasons dominating every A-ball level and entered 2016 as the 67th ranked prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. The last two seasons in AA have been a struggle. He dealt with forearm and elbow issues in 2016 that never really let him get on track. Last season was a (not so) different story, where he was apparently healthy but just as unimpressive on the field, posting a 4.43 ERA, a 1.3 WHIP and a K/9 of just 6.4. Typically when a minor leaguer has such a difficult time for two consecutive seasons at the same level, their major league chances are all but over. However, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are still committed to the stuff and raw ability of Underwood, giving him another invite to Spring Training this year and promoting him to AAA. The 23-year-old Underwood has responded well and is getting rewarded for it tonight. He has a high-ish 4.27 ERA, but that's largely due to a ridiculously low 54.7% LOB rate that will surely be higher with a major league caliber defense playing behind him. His biggest concern on the mound throughout his career has been command, but his walk rate in Iowa has been an excellent 6.7%. Also, he never gives up dingers, having allowed just three long balls in 71.2 innings so far. Because of how quickly so many of the current Cubs rose through the minor leagues and then found immediate success at the majors, it can be difficult to remember how long and tedious of a grind the minor leagues can be for many prospects, especially those that get drafted at 17 like Underwood was. Cubs Director of Player Development Jaron Madison made this point about Underwood and it's hard to disagree:

“That’s the challenge with a lot of young players that we draft and acquire is, there’s a maturity process, but there’s also just the growing-up-into-a-man process that takes time, and you really need all those things to happen at the same time because many of these guys have never had money before, been out on their own, had the challenges of the travel and being a professional,"

It took a little longer for Underwood to mature, but he's not even 24 yet and he's already making his major league debut. Given the Cubs have six starting pitchers under contract through 2020, it's hard to see Underwood cracking the rotation anytime soon. But tonight he gets his shot, and if he can develop into a lively bullpen arm for the short term i.e. Carl Edwards Jr., that would be a major boost for the Cubs considering where Underwood was at just a year ago.