The 2022 MLB trade deadline didn’t deliver the fireworks some expected from the Cubs, who had two of the market’s biggest bats in Willson Contreras and Ian Happ. Instead, three relievers saw their way out of town in smaller deals, the sort that happen every year as teams try to bolster their bullpens for the stretch run.
The returns from those deals don’t constitute the grand haul that general manager Jed Hoyer secured last summer, when several veterans turned into a group of prospects, including Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kevin Alcantara — now two of the best talents in the organization. But the farm system still needed arms, and it added at least two good ones.
Hayden Wesneski, RHP
Age: 24
MLB prospect ranking: No. 8
The return from an unexpected trade of reliever Scott Effross, Wesneski arrives from the Yankees organization in the midst of a solid season at Triple-A. If you were fretting the loss of Effross, who’s under team control through 2027, let me introduce you to Wesneski’s “frisbee slider,” a highlight that’s had Yankees fans drooling since March.
Hayden Wesneski, Sick 82mph Frisbee Slider. 🥏
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 18, 2022
22" of horizontal break. pic.twitter.com/2hTbO0E9xG
When people talk about an “out pitch,” they’re picturing something like that. Wesneski’s slider doesn’t even need to sit near 22 inches of horizontal movement to be one of the nastiest in baseball. According to Statcast, among pitchers to throw 100-plus sliders this season, only 11 have averaged horizontal movement of 17 inches or more. Twenty-two inches, even if not repeatable on every pitch, is eye-popping.
Wesneski pairs that slider with a fastball that MLB Pipeline says can reach 98, forming the foundation of a solid arsenal that’s allowed him to post a 3.51 ERA in the International League this year, well below the 4.58 league average. He has not quite been dominant, with a .267 batting average on balls in play helping to fuel his performance. His 4.00 FIP may be more indicative of how he’s pitched.
Ben Brown, RHP
Age: 22
MLB prospect ranking: No. 11
Five years ago, the Phillies gambled in the 33rd round on the lanky Brown, who has developed enough since to become the centerpiece of the deal that sent 37-year-old reliever David Robertson to Philadelphia.
What makes Brown exciting is the leap he has taken at the High Single-A level in his second season since returning from Tommy John surgery, which along with the COVID-19 pandemic limited him to 13.2 innings across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. After struggling to shed the rust in 2021, Brown earned a promotion to Double-A Reading just two days before the Cubs acquired him.
The 22-year-old had a 3.08 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 73 innings with High Single-A Aberdeen before those moves. He fans a lot of hitters, with a 12.95 K/9 this season. And among the 27 starters in the South Atlantic League to throw 70-plus innings this season when the deal was done, Brown ranked third in ERA and strikeout rate while having the fourth-lowest walk rate. The hope will be that he can keep building on that breakout performance.
Saúl Gonzalez, RHP
Age: 22
MLB prospect ranking: Not ranked
Gonzalez, the least exciting of the three new additions to the farm system, came from the Mets for Mychal Givens. He didn’t crack MLB.com’s updated Cubs prospect rankings. Like Brown, he’s massive (6’7). This season he’s been working out of the bullpen, with a 2.81 ERA over 25.2 innings. Most impressively, he hasn’t allowed a home run.
