Inside The Cubs

Flamethrowing Chicago Cubs Reliever Named Top Breakout Candidate

The Chicago Cubs have a flamethrower in their bullpen who could be a top breakout star this season.

Dylan Sanders

Sep 23, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Nate Pearson (56) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Sep 23, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Nate Pearson (56) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Cubs have made a handful of changes to their bullpen this offseason, but their biggest breakout star could be a flamethrower they traded for last year.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports recently named one breakout candidate for each MLB team, and for the Cubs, it was relief pitcher Nate Pearson.

Pearson hasn't been unplayable throughout his career, but he is certainly a surprising choice for a breakout given he has some real experience despite only a handful of that time being solid.

Luckily for Chicago, it was after they traded for him when he started to show some growth.

Perhaps the Cubs' pitching staff found what he needed to take that next step.

Pearson was the first-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2017 and made his MLB debut just a few years later in 2020.

It took him a while to break into the big leagues for real, finally making a mark in 2023.

Between the 2020 and 2023 campaigns, he started out with 5.00 ERA over 75.2 innings of work. He picked up just one save and had a 1.414 WHIP.

It is safe to say he was far below average on the mound to start his time as a professional.

Things took a turn for the worse with the Blue Jays. He had a troubling 5.63 ERA with a 1.550 WHIP, playing the worst baseball of his career. Those struggles led to Toronto trading him away to Chicago at the trade deadline.

He was traded for two prospects, Josh Rivera and Yohendrick Piñango.

Rivera was traded at a valley of his career, posting just a .169/.261/.240 slash line at the Double-A level last season. He was a former third round pick that was on a brutal slump last year.

Piñango also slashed just .180/.244/.274 in the 33 games after being traded.

While the Blue Jays cannot be ecstatic about their return so far, Pearson has been almost the opposite case since being moved.

In 19 games for the Cubs, he had just a 2.73 ERA with 0.987. Interestingly enough, it was actually the least efficient of his career in terms of striking batters out.

The 28-year-old had an ERA+ of 147 to end the season, putting him well above average.

Pearson's fastball sits at nearly 98 mph, but it is his slider that really makes the money.

His one spring training appearance so far saw him put up a perfect inning with no strikeouts.

Perhaps the switch to forcing bad contact has been a key to his success and could allow him to be the breakout star he's predicted to be this year.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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