The Cubs have recalled P Scott Maine from Iowa
Maine takes Kerry Wood’s spot on the roster and has made brief appearances with the Cubs in each of the previous two seasons. It went pretty well for him in 2010, when he put up a 2.08 ERA in 13 IP, and also prevented all 7 of the baserunners he inherited from scoring. It went less well in 2011, when he gave up 4 HR in 7 IP. Yikes – small sample sizes or no, that’s not good.
Anyway, Maine first came to the Cubs from the Arizona system in 2009, in the trade that saw Aaron Heilman go to the Diamondbacks. Once he reached AAA, he became a very high strikeout pitcher; in 113.1 IP in AAA, he struck out 11.0 batters per nine innings, against 4.4 BB/9. That’s right around the 2.50 K/BB ratio that it seems the Cubs are looking for in their pitchers, and in 6.1 IP for Iowa this year, that’s exactly the ratio he posted (7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9), against no homers and only 2 hits allowed.
His presence gives the Cubs a second lefty in the pen, which they’ve been lacking this season, and with his stuff he should be able to face righthanders also. He’s been very difficult to hit in AAA, so with any luck, he’ll not only make the absence of Wood easier to manage, but earn himself a spot in the pen even after Wood (hopefully) gets back.
