Five more cuts from big league camp today, as pitchers Caleb Kilian, Cody Poteet, Jack Neely, Gavin Hollowell, and Riley Martin were sent to minor league Spring Training.
The first four pitchers are on the 40-man roster, and all have minor league options remaining. That potentially put them on the outside looking in already for a variety of reasons, but none of these four was expected to make the Opening Day roster in any case. Which is not to say they are not expected to contribute to the big league team, as having optionable guys who can come up and down throughout the season has tremendous value.
Kilian, 27, figures to keep on starting – the Cubs have shown no real inclination to move him to the bullpen, even though he’s now in his final option year – and will be rotation depth at Triple-A Iowa. A breakout is always possible, since that velocity and diverse pitch mix remain tantalizing, but it’s also possible he never quite makes the big league jump.
The story figures to be the same for Poteet, 30, who was the return in the Cody Bellinger trade. The Cubs like Poteet’s starting potential post-Tommy John surgery, and I anticipate he’ll be in Iowa’s rotation until there’s a need at the big league level or until there’s some kind of breakout the Cubs cannot ignore.
Neely, 24, is one of the Cubs’ best relief prospects, but he still needs some work at Triple-A Iowa to really lock in that next big league opportunity. Huge upside and hopefully the Cubs can unlock it.
Hollowell, 27, is a hard-throwing reliever whom the Cubs have preserved on the 40-man all offseason after a late waiver claim last year, so they clearly like him. He is in his final option year, so you can expect, if he sticks on the 40-man, that he’ll be in that up-down group of young relievers until and unless he demonstrates that the Cubs cannot afford to send him down.
Martin, 26, is not yet on the 40-man roster, so he hasn’t entered his option years like the four above. There’s big league lefty reliever potential there, but he’ll have to cut the walks dramatically (without losing the strikeouts) in order to have success against more polished batters.
The spring roster stands at 54 after today’s cuts.
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