Triple-A Relievers Jeremiah Estrada and Brendon Little Likely to Receive Chicago Cubs Call Up

The Chicago Cubs will be without the services of pitchers Justin Steele and Adrian Sampson for the team's upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays due to Canada's COVID-19 vaccine rules, opening two roster spots for the next few games.

Following the Cubs series finale in Milwaukee, The Athletic's Patrick Mooney reported that Iowa Cubs relievers Jeremiah Estrada and Brendon Little were in the locker room, appearing to be the selections to replace Steele and Sampson.

Little and Estrada were both a part of Chicago's 2017 draft, with Little being the team's first-round pick. The 26-year-old Little was moved to the bullpen in 2021 and has been rock-solid. The UNC product has a groundball rate of over 50% and strikes out over a batter an inning. Little does struggle a bit with walks (11.6%) but has the potential to be a solid reliever at the major league level.

The real excitement may come from Jeremiah Estrada. Across Double-A and Triple-A, Estrada has struck out over 40% of the batters he's faced. In Triple-A, he didn't allow a run across his six appearances. The righties main success will come from his 60-grade changeup but also sports a lively fastball and a curveball as well.

The Cubs bullpen has taken a massive disappointment since the trades of its top four contributors at the deadline, and it'll be very exciting to get a look at two young arms who could breathe new life into a struggling unit.

Elsewhere on the farm:

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (56-67) vs St. Paul Saints (59-62): L 13-12

Matt Mervis drove in two more runs, bringing his season total across the minor leagues to 100. The first baseman also homered.
Caleb Kilian was unable to stack good outings, allowing six earned runs over 3.1 innings while walking three.
Ben Leeper was the only Iowa pitcher to not allow a run (Though Cam Sanders only allowed one unearned run). The righty struck out two and walked one in his lone inning of work.
Michael Hermosillo went 3-for-5 and was just a home run shy of the cycle. The outfielder has a Triple-A OPS of 1.280 on his rehab assignment.

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (63-57) vs Rocket City Trash Pandas (70-50): L 8-3

Jake Slaughter had one knock in four at-bats, a home run. It was the third baseman's 17th of the season.
Harrison Wenson went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. He was the only Smokie with multiple hits.
Hunter Bigge and Ben Hecht combined for four scoreless relief innings with six punchouts, no walks, and just one hit.

High-A: South Bend Cubs (67-53) at West Michigan Whitecaps (63-57): W 7-1

Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the leadoff spot. One of the lefties knocks his 13th double in South Bend.
Owen Caissie had his fourth extra-base hit in three days with a double in the ninth.
Daniel Palencia pitched four strong innings with four tickets punched, two walks, two hits, and no walks. The righty acquired from Oakland in the Andrew Chafin deal has a 4.16 ERA with South Bend.
The bottom six hitters for South Bend had at least one hit. BJ Murray Jr. and Pablo Aliendo each had a pair of knocks.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (72-48) vs Augusta GreenJackets (62-57): W 7-5

Cubs 2022 12th-round pick Mathew Peters pitched a scoreless inning with two walks, a hit, and a strikeout in his Single-A debut. The righty is the third pitcher from the Cubs draft to make their first appearance in Myrtle Beach in two days.
Top prospect Kevin Alcantara went 1-4 with a walk in the leadoff spot.
James Triantos went 2-for-4 with a double. The former second-round pick leads the Pelicans in doubles with 19.
Myrtle Beach collectively walked seven times, with Ethan Hearn walking twice.

Transactions:

Right-Handed Pitchers Mathew Peters and Michael Arias were assigned to Single-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs. Arias has an ERA of 4.85 across eight starts, while Peters gave up one run in his lone ACL appearance.
High-A South Bend right-handed pitcher Chris Kachmar was activated off of the 60-day injured list.

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