Promising Cubs Prospect Off to Rocky Start in Arizona Fall League

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in Scottsdale, Arizona, Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Nick Hull made his second start of the Arizona Fall League.

In his first start, Hull cruised through the game's first three innings, allowing just one man to reach base, facing only nine batters. Then, in the fourth inning, he hit a snag, allowing five runs off two walks, one hit batsman, two hits, and a home run.

Hull's struggles carried over into Wednesday's game, as the 24 year-old surrendered five runs to the Scottsdale Scorpions during the game's first two innings.

He allowed a double to Scorpions' leadoff hitter Oliver Dunn, before walking Gabriel Rincones Jr. and giving up a three-run homer to Israel Pineda.

The Cubs' prospect allowed two more runs in the second inning, walking Reggie Crawford and giving up a two-run bomb to Rincones Jr.

Through two Fall League starts, Hull has allowed 10 earned runs off eight hits and five walks across 7 2/3 innings, good for an 11.25 ERA and a 1.806 WHIP.

Even thought he's struggled through his first two starts, it's still very early, and he has plenty of time to find his footing.

Chicago selected Hull out of Grand Canyon University in the seventh round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. He posted a 7-1 record and 3.72 ERA across 16 starts in his senior season at GCU.

Hull spent the majority of the 2023 season at Single-A Myrtle Beach, but after striking out 77 batters in 18 games, the GCU product earned a promotion to High-A South Bend in mid-August. The 24-year-old finished the year strong, logging a 3.24 ERA and 0.900 WHIP over six games and 16 2/3 IP with the South Bend Cubs.

Though Hull didn't get off to a great start Wednesday, the right-hander eventually found his groove. He retired six of the final seven batters that he faced before hitting his pitch count in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Hull wasn't the only Cubs prospect to see game action Wednesday. He was succeeded by South Bend Cubs teammate Tyler Santana, who pitched three perfect frames, allowing no runs, no hits and no walks, with two strikeouts.

Top prospect Kevin Alcantara (No. 71 on MLB Pipeline) crushed a three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning. It was his second home run of the fall.

Infield prospect James Triantos continued to impress, delivering an RBI triple. His OPS is now up to 1.221, as he sports a .400 Batting Average in the Fall League.

Outfield prospect Christian Franklin enjoyed a three-hit day, improving his BA to .317 and his OPS to .771

Published Oct 12, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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