What Hayden Wesneski’s debut season means for the Cubs in 2023

CINCINNATI – Hayden Wesneski thought he’d be finishing this season in Scranton, Pennsylvania as a Triple-A pitcher in the Yankees’ farm system.

Instead, he ended it on the Great American Ball Park mound as a big-league starter for the Cubs.

“If you had told meI’d be right here in this spot,” he said, standing in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse after holding the Reds to one earned run in the Cubs’ 3-1 loss Monday, “I’d tell you, you were lying. … It’s just been a crazy year.”

Wesneski has gone through plenty of transition over the past couple months. First, he went from the Yankees organization to the Cubs, traded for Scott Effross before the trade deadline. Then, he made the move from Triple-A Iowa to the big-leagues. He quickly transitioned from a multi-inning relief role to starting.

Wesneski finished the year with a 2.18 ERA in six major-league outings.

He threw at least five innings and allowed two or fewer runs in each of his four starts. And he ended the season on a strong note Monday, in the first game of the last series of the year.

“I thought he threw great,” manager David Ross said, reflecting on Wesneski’s season. “Every outing gave us a chance to win, threw strikes, command of the zone with multiple pitches.”

His strong finish has been a big part of the Cubs rotation’s late success. Between his emergence, Marcus Stroman’s return from the injured list and Adrian Sampson’s steadying presence in September, Cubs starters have posted the best ERA in the National League (2.88) since the beginning of last month, according to FanGraphs. And that was without Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson, due to late-season back injuries.

On the back of that rotational success, the Cubs also posted a 15-11 record in September, making it their first winning month since May of last season.

Asked last week if he thought he belonged in the 2023 rotation, Wesneski didn’t jump to conclusions.

“I’ve got to make the team first,” he said. “I know how this is going to kind of go: I’m going to go into the offseason, the Cubs are going to try to win next year. And I would like to be part of a winning team. We’re winning games now, and it’s really fun, right? So, to be a part of the rotation, I’d love that. I’d love that more than anything, but that’s a little far away.”

Trying to win also means adding in the offseason. And adding a front-of-the-rotation starter would push back the Cubs’ more established arms and make those back-end roles more competitive.

No matter his role to begin next season, Wesneski made an impression quickly. Even in his start Monday, which wasn’t among his best, he limited damage.

The two runs that scored agaisnt him came in the third inning, when he walked Jose Barrero to lead off the inning and made a throwing error on a swinging bunt up the first baseline. The only other hit he gave up in the inning was a blooper into no man’s land in shallow right field for an RBI double.

He bounced back with three quick scoreless innings.

“I thought he threw the ball extremely well,” Ross said. “Just little things cost him the game.”

Add Wesneski’s third career quality start to his resume, behind his debut – when he allowed just two hits in five shutout innings against the Reds earlier this month – and an immaculate inning against the Pirates.

“To be honest with you, those things are really cool,” he said, “but I’d rather be pitching in October.”

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