You don’t have to be a pitching expert to notice when there’s some absolute nastiness happening on a mound and Cubs rookie Ethan Roberts showed off his filth against the Pirates on Tuesday. The 24-year-old came on to protect a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning and with two outs and a runner at second base he unleashed a lethal 3-2 slider against veteran catcher Roberto Pérez to end the inning.
This isn’t hyperbole either. Roberts’ first strikeout was one of the nastiest during the first week of the 2022 season across MLB. Look at this thing move!
Nasty strikeout from Ethan Roberts! pic.twitter.com/uWoarn7tDZ
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 12, 2022
Ethan Roberts, Ridiculous 84mph Slider. 😲
22 Inches of horizontal break. pic.twitter.com/wtU9gmjmFI
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 12, 2022
That slider had about 2 feet of horizontal movement, ranking at the very top among MLB pitchers. That alone is unfair for hitters, but Roberts also has a tricky vertical release point that will continue to give hitters problems moving forward.
Ethan Roberts' slider horizontal release point is 99th percentile…
…but his VERTICAL RELEASE POINT is also extreme. He lets go of the pitch at a lower plane than most pitchers.
So he has an extreme slider in the form of movement AND release point pic.twitter.com/Dk9Dx5IewH
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) April 13, 2022
Roberts was a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee Tech in 2018, and after moving up in the minors he was impressive during spring training which led to his first MLB Opening Day roster spot.
Here’s David Ross telling Ethan Roberts that he’s made the Opening Day roster for the Cubs! pic.twitter.com/MIIUzHEXrx
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 4, 2022
Fans have to love the genuine emotion that Roberts shows and we saw a glimpse of that after his first MLB strikeout on Tuesday. Pure giddiness getting off the mound after a big moment. You love to see it from Ethan Roberts.
Rotation off to Strong Start
Because of Friday’s rain out and Monday’s scheduled day off the Cubs only needed four pitchers for their first turn through the starting rotation. So far, David Ross has to be pleased, as Kyle Hendricks, Justin Steele, Marcus Stroman and Drew Smyly have combined to give up a total of two runs in 20.1 innings.
The Chicago #Cubs top-4 starters have opened the season with 20 IP and just 2 combined earned runs!
K. Hendricks: 5.1 IP, 1ER
J. Steele: 5.O IP, 0ER
M. Stroman: 5.0 IP, 1ER
D. Smyly: 5.0 IP, 0ER— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) April 12, 2022
Hendricks will make his second start of the season Wednesday against the Pirates.
Starters vs. Rockies
Following the quick two-game set in Pittsburgh, the Cubs will be flying over to Colorado for a four-game series against Kris Bryant’s Rockies. Three of the four starting pitchers have been named, but Saturday’s starter is still to be determined.
#Cubs pitching @ Colorado:
GM1: Steele
GM2: Stroman
GM3: TBD
GM4: Smyly— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 13, 2022
Alec Mills, who began the year on the injured list because of back strain, recently throw 75 pitches during a bullpen session hypothetically was an option to join the rotation this weekend, but the Cubs are taking a cautious route with the right-hander.
Alec Mills (low back strain) is eligible to come off the IL tomorrow, but #Cubs are taking it slow with him so he won’t be starting Saturday in Denver.
Ross says they’re still working through their options for that game. https://t.co/U1iYO37Yig
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) April 13, 2022
We could see a bullpen game with guys like Jesse Chavez, Michael Rucker and Keegan Thompson pitching multiple innings on Saturday. There’s also Iowa Cubs pitcher Cory Abbott, who can be slotted into the start against the Rockies.
As for Keegan Thompson, he was suspended three games after hitting Andrew McCutchen. The Cubs’ young righty has appealed his suspension.
