Let’s get this party started right. After showing out during his past few appearances for the Iowa Cubs, Cubs trade deadline acquisition Hayden Wesneski made his MLB debut tonight with the big leaguers.
Known for having arguably the best slider in the entire system that features horizontal movement that simply isn’t found in the Majors right now, Wesneski showcased this pitch immediately for his first strikeout in Chicago.
Peep the psycho mentality escaping a bit with that K-strut of his.
Naturally, the righty got the Pitching Ninja treatment after facing just 4 batters. That, by itself, is enough to consider the debut a success, right?
But the 24-year-old wasn’t done there. He continued to feature that patented slider throughout the outing, logging an additional seven strikeouts in his five innings of work.
His final line? 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts.
You read that correctly. Just TWO hits in his MLB debut. And they both came in his final inning of work in the ninth inning to close out a Cubs victory. Kid’s a stud.
While he wasn’t ranked in NSB’s Midseason Top 25 (it dropped before the deadline), Wesneski falls somewhere within the grouping of top arms in the system along with Jordan Wicks, Cade Horton, Caleb Kilian, and DJ Herz. He’s ranked 12th in the system according to MLB Pipeline.
