Watch: Chicago Cubs Starter Wesneski Shines In Final Spring Start
Hayden Wesneski left no stone unturned in his final MLB Spring Training start.
In the Chicago Cubs' 11-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, the 25-year-old righty dazzled in what has been a microcosm of his spring.
With the fifth starter spot open for competition, Wesneski left no doubt that he should be the guy for the job.
He struck out two of the first four batters to begin the game. Wesneski finished with five punchouts in 5.0 innings of work. He featured very refined offspeed pitches.
"I was spinning (the ball) really well today, and that was something that I worked in my last bullpen and have been for the last two or three. It was a good one today," Wesneski said.
Wesneski's fastball was at its best this spring, touching 97 mph on the radar gun.
"That was sick," Wesneski said. "That’s one of the things I’m really happy about. It’s not the hardest I’ve thrown. It’s one of those things where we’re just trying to get back to that top-end speed. We’re getting there."
While it's impressive to see Wesneski throw that hard, he understands it doesn't mean much if he can't record outs.
"If I would’ve touched 99 today, but I didn’t get out of the first, I’d be more upset than I am throwing 97 and getting outs," he added.
The Houston native faced adversity in his final inning on Thursday.
After setting down the first two batters, Wesneski gave up a two-out triple, issued a walk, and followed with a throwing error that allowed the tying run to come in.
However, the young pitcher put that aside and struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end his day.
Wesneski finished the spring with a 3-1 record over five starts, posting a 2.12 ERA and fanning 22 batters in 17.0 innings. He also limited batters to a .203 average and yielded only six walks.
There's not much more you could ask for from your fifth starter. Wesneski came into camp with the mindset of winning the job.
“To be honest with you, it’s kinda been compete mode for me the whole time,” Wesneski said. “I know that they say Spring Training is time to work on stuff and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, it’s just Spring Training.’ I didn’t treat it like that. I can’t treat it like that. I’m not in that position.”
It'll be interesting to see what happens when Kyle Hendricks is healthy enough to return to the rotation.
At that point in the season, will Wesneski be the odd man out? Or will he be pitching well enough that the Cubs will have to consider booting someone else from the rotation?
Only time will tell.
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