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Caleb Kilian

NL Notes: Nationals, Diamondbacks, Cubs

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With veteran Alcides Escobar sidelined with a hamstring strain, the Nationals had little choice but to turn to Luis Garcia, a former top prospect who came into the year sporting a 79 wRC+ through 386 career plate appearances. Despite a host of veteran signings that seemed to block Garcia from regular playing time, his time has come. Manager Dave Martinez has made clear that Garcia is his starting shortstop from here on out, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Since taking over, Garcia has hit .352/.368/.519 over 57 plate appearances. That’s obviously above and beyond what the Nats can expect from Garcia, but even developing into an average regular would be a boon for a Nats team with few offensive building blocks beyond Juan Soto and Keibert Ruiz. Elsewhere around the National League…

  • The Diamondbacks don’t yet know what their approach will be when it comes to the trade deadline, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. GM Mike Hazen wants to see a little more from his club, who at 30-35 sits 6.5 games out of a wild card spot. It does not sound like the Diamondbacks are willing to move any heralded prospects, no matter how the next few weeks go, but if they remain in the race, Hazen could augment his current roster around the periphery, certainly when it comes to pitching, Gilbert notes.
  • Cubs prospect Caleb Kilian is going to be in the rotation for the foreseeable future, and while that’s certainly their long-term hope for him, right now it’s more about need than performance, per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. With Wade Miley, Marcus Stroman, Adbert Alzolay, and Drew Smyly all on the injured list, the Cubs are going to let Killian earn his keep in the rotation, at least for a while.
  • As for Stroman, he played catch today for the first time since going on the shelf, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). That puts Stroman still aways from a return. No timetable has been put on his official return schedule.

Cubs Select Caleb Kilian, Option Mark Leiter Jr., DFA Conner Menez

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The Cubs have officially selected the contract of Caleb Kilian while making a number of other roster moves to accommodate his arrival and prepare for today’s doubleheader against the Cardinals. Mark Leiter Jr. was optioned to Triple-A and Conner Menez was designated for assignment, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Anderson Espinoza was also brought aboard to serve as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.

The news of Kilian’s promotion first came across the wire yesterday. His performance will carry more consequence to Cubs’ fans than a normal prospect because of his status as the trade return for Kris Bryant, the one-time face-of-the-franchise. Whether or not it makes sense to put that burden on Kilian, the optics of Kilian’s progress are likely to serve as a touch point for judging the effectiveness of President of Baseball Ops Jed Hoyer’s rebuilding efforts. He’s not the only one, but because Kilian was one of only two pitching prospects returned in the deals for Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Yu Darvish, and Javier Baez, his importance among the group of acquired prospects is somewhat bloated.

Leiter Jr., 31, has been up and down this season as both a starter and reliever. He has been a tad generous with free passes with a 9-to-16 walk-to-strikeout ratio over 17 1/3 innings in the bigs. Though a 4.53 FIP suggests he can be a serviceable arm, the bottom-line results have not been there, as he has racked up a 6.23 ERA.

Menez, 27, was designated for assignment to clear a space on the 40-man roster. He made just one appearance for the Cubs, tossing a scoreless inning. The southpaw has logged 17 1/3 innings in Triple-A, however, with a 2.08 ERA. Claimed off waivers from the Giants this past December, Menez will again be exposed to open waivers.

Espinoza, meanwhile, made his Major League debut just a couple of days ago, tossing four innings against the Brewers, giving up two earned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out six.

Cubs To Promote Caleb Kilian

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The Cubs are planning to promote pitching prospect Caleb Kilian to make his major league debut tomorrow against the Cardinals, manager David Ross told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). The right-hander is not yet on the 40-man roster, so Chicago will need to formally select his contract tomorrow. The Cubs’ 40-man is full, meaning there’ll be a corresponding move forthcoming.

Chicago acquired Kilian last summer, adding him alongside outfield prospect Alexander Canario from the Giants for Kris Bryant minutes before the trade deadline. San Francisco had selected Kilian in the eighth round of the 2019 draft out of Texas Tech, and he’s elevated his stock with a strong showing in the minor leagues. The right-hander owned an excellent 2.43 ERA through 63 Double-A innings at the time of the trade, and he’s continued to thrive since changing organizations.

Kilian made four starts with the Cubs Double-A affiliate down the stretch, then has started this season at Triple-A Iowa. He’s worked nine starts and tossed 39 1/3 innings, pitching to a 2.06 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates (24.8% and 9.1% respectively). Kilian has induced grounders on nearly 60% of batted balls against him — well north of the 43.1% MLB average.

Baseball America recently ranked Kilian the #5 prospect in the Chicago system, writing that he’s improved his raw stuff since entering pro ball. According to BA, the 6’4″ hurler works in the low-mid 90s on his fastball and has a trio of average or better secondary offerings (curveball, cutter and changeup). The outlet credits Kilian with plus control, while FanGraphs wrote this offseason that he may wind up with plus-plus command (a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale) at peak. Both publications suggest he’s likely to be a long-term starting pitcher — probably a middle or back of the rotation arm.

The Cubs would’ve had to add Kilian to the 40-man roster after this season to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, and they’ll bring him aboard a few months early. It remains to be seen whether the first call will be more than a spot start, as the Cubs and Cards are slated for a doubleheader. Whether it’s immediate or at some point a bit down the line, though, the retooling club figures to install Kilian as a regular rotation member fairly soon.

Even if Kilian is in the majors from here on out, he won’t reach a full year of service time this season. He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2028 campaign at the earliest. Kilian would be in strong position to qualify for early arbitration after 2025 as a Super Two player, but optional assignments back to Iowa could change that trajectory.

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