The Chicago Cubs were fortunate to be able to claim Franmil Reyes off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 9. Reyes struggled this season for Cleveland (.603 OPS), but he’s been a productive slugger in his career (.796 career OPS and .481 career SLG) and just turned 27 in July. And he’s looked more like his career self so far with the Cubs, putting together an .864 OPS in 58 plate appearances.
So, the Cubs had a potential high-impact bat fall into their lap. What the Cubs didn’t know with the Reyes addition is that they may also be getting an effective pitcher.
Chicago was blown out by the St. Louis Cardinals 13-3 in Game 2 of a doubleheader (Chicago won Game 1, 2-0) on Tuesday night, and Reyes was easily the most effective of five pitchers on the night.
In an inning of work, Reyes got NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt to ground into a double play before striking out Paul DeJong on a 90 mph fastball.
Reyes’ line: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K (on just 10 pitches)
Here's Franmil Reyes getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground into a double play and Paul DeJong to strike out.
(I didn't have access to the Cubs broadcast) pic.twitter.com/QY91v3SLoT
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) August 24, 2022
Now, the first batter Reyes faced was the red-hot Albert Pujols, and after getting ahead in the count 0-2, Reyes hit Pujols with a breaking ball.
Franmil Reyes just hit Albert Pujols with a pitch pic.twitter.com/QKUx814yWD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 24, 2022
But that baserunner was immediately erased on a first-pitch double play.
The Statcast data even loved the 6’5″, 270-pound right-hander’s performance:
20% of MLB pitchers have a lower 4seam spin rate than Franmil Reyes' 4seam (2138 RPM)
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) August 24, 2022
[Photo Credit: Bally Sports Midwest]
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.