The Chicago Cubs may have a hard pill to swallow in a few weeks when it comes to their pitching staff. Both Adrian Sampson and Hayden Wesneski are battling it out this spring for the fifth spot in the rotation.
Only one will will earn the spot.
Wesneski has been lights out this spring, so impressive in fact that we have stated that he should be given the chance in the rotation if he continues to throw the ball like he has. He's been that good.
On the other hand, Sampson has more experience and has been in this role his entire career. His stuff might not be as electric and his ceiling much lower, but that is the role of a fifth stater. Just eat innings.
The Cubs clearly want Wesneski to develop just a little more and refine his stuff.
Speaking with 670 The Score, General Manager Carter Hawkins said that if Wesneski can help now then great, but still leaned more towards his continued development.
“The answer I want is whichever one helps the Cubs win the most this year and into the future, and that’s kind of the balance we’ll have to think about, is hey, if there’s levers we want to pull that we really only feel like he can pull down at Triple-A, then we’ll send him down there,” said Hawkins.
That seems to give the edge to Sampson, at least initially, as they want to fully tap into Wesneski's potential and ceiling.
Again, it may be a hard pill to swallow, but the Cubs are prioritizing the near future over the immediate present. It's a good problem to finally have.
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