Buckeyes Now

Chicago Cubs Giving Former Ohio State Buckeyes Star A Shot in Big Leagues

The Chicago Cubs are giving a former Ohio State Buckeyes' star a shot in the big leagues.
Evan Massey|
Sep 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detailed view of Chicago Cubs third baseman Javier Baez (9) (not pictured) hat and glove with the initials P.R. for his home country Puerto Rico against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Sep 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detailed view of Chicago Cubs third baseman Javier Baez (9) (not pictured) hat and glove with the initials P.R. for his home country Puerto Rico against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio State Buckeyes have turned out a few very good baseball players in recent years. Now, one of them is getting a shot in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs.

As shared by MLB Pipeline, the Cubs made the decision to call up relief pitcher Jack Neely on Tuesday after parting ways with veteran reliever Hector Neris.

Neely was the No. 18 overall prospect in the Chicago farm system, as mentioned above.

Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Cubs acquired Neely in a trade with the New York Yankees. Chicago sent veteran reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees in return.

Neely spent the 2021 season with the Buckeyes, appearing in 12 games, striking out 62 batters and issuing 24 walks in 41.1 innings. He will be the third former Ohio State player to make their MLB debut this season.

Outside of Neely, both catcher Dillon Dingler and Zach Dezenzo have made their major league debuts this year.

Currently, their are five Ohio State players who are playing at the big league level. Dingler, Dezenzo, Dominic Canzone, and Ryan Feltner are the other four.

Hopefully, Neely will be able to make an impact on the Cubs in his first stint at the major league level. He has certainly looked the part of a potential impact pitcher during his minor league career.

As always, Buckeyes fans will be rooting on one of their own as he prepares to take the major league field for the first time with Chicago.

Published
Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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