With over half of the season in the books, July is the perfect time to add reinforcements. Many teams wait until the trade deadline at the end of the month to do so, but the Chicago Cubs can't afford to hold back, not with their season already slipping away.
Following the Cubs' 7-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, MLB insider Jon Morosi reported on X that the team is calling up minor-league pitching prospect Hunter Bigge from Triple-A to bolster their bullpen.
The 26-year-old right-handed reliever has been one of the best pitchers in Triple-A this season, dominating opponents with a 0.77 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.
Sources: Cubs are calling up Hunter Bigge, the 26-year-old relief pitching prospect.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 6, 2024
The @HarvardBaseball alum has been dominant with a 0.77 ERA at Triple-A. @MLBNetwork @MLBPipeline @670TheScore
A 12th-round draft pick in 2019 out of Harvard, Bigge initially struggled in the minors but has finally hit his stride the season. Armed with a riding high 90s fastball and a high 80s cutter, he has been close to unhittable this year with a 44.2 percent strikeout rate and 48.6 percent whiff rate in 11 appearances at Triple-A.
That type of swing-and-miss ability is exactly what Chicago needs in its bullpen.
The Cubs' relief corps has been below average this year, ranking 19th in ERA (4.25) and 22nd in FIP (4.10), so hopefully Bigge can provide a boost.
Mired in last place in the NL Central, Chicago needs all the help they can get right now.
Saturday's loss dropped the team eight games below .500, so the Cubs desperately need to turn things around over the next few weeks if they want to avoid a major sell-off at the trade deadline.
As a one-inning reliever, Bigge's impact is relatively limited. Still, he's capable of providing some stability to a bullpen that has had trouble closing out games. He'll also give Craig Counsell another late-inning weapon if his strikeout rate holds.
Bigge could make his MLB debut as early as Sunday against the Angels at Wrigley Field, but time will tell when, and how, Counsell decides to deploy him.