Chicago Cubs Call Up Another Top Pitching Prospect

Another pitcher is now in the mix for the Chicago Cubs after they promoted one of their top prospects.

Apr 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A Chicago Cubs hat and glove / David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have had tons of pitching changes this year as they have battled injuries and poor performances across their roster that has caused them to have a turnstile within their starting rotation and bullpen.

With Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon back in the mix, they're hoping their starters will have much more consistency than what the team dealt with early.

However, they are still searching for answers in their bullpen.

Because of that, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports the Cubs are calling up right-hander Porter Hodge to their Major League roster and that he arrived in the clubhouse. There are no announcements on the corresponding moves as of yet.

Hodge is ranked as Chicago's No. 24 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has spent the majority of this year with their Triple-A affiliate.

The 23-year-old was taken in the 13th round of the 2019 draft by the Cubs out of high school. He's largely been used as a starting pitcher in the minors, especially early in his career when he started 38 out of his 44 appearances.

They started shifting his role to get him more experience coming out of the bullpen when he reached the higher levels of minor league baseball.

At 6-foot-4, he is primarily a fastball pitcher with it averaging 93-96 mph and it touching 98 at its peak. He pairs that with a devastating slider to right-handed hitters after getting away from his curveball and changeup following his move into the bullpen.

Chicago is searching for pitchers out of their bullpen who can come in for one to two innings and get outs at a high level.

There are some questions if Hodge will be able to do that against elite hitters as his ERA was 4.80 at Triple-A during his 12 appearances.

Still, it's clear there is a need for right-handed pitching on this roster with Yency Almonte, Keegan Thompson, Daniel Palencia, and Adbert Alzolay on the short-term injured list, while Julian Merryweather and Caleb Kilian are on the 60-day IL.