Eduarniel Nunez – Pic by Todd Johnson

When it came to reliever statistics last year, it was the year of Luke Little.

The big lefty dominated three of the five categories, including ERA, strikeouts, and strikeouts per nine innings. With a 2.12 ERA, 105 strikeouts, and a 14.84 K/9, Luke easily earned the 2023 Reliever of the Year award. The only two majors statistics he did not lead in were batting average against and saves. Those went to Johzan Oquendo and Manny Rodriguez, respectively, With Little now firmly entrenched in the majors, it’s someone else’s turn to lead those five statistical categories.

The key to any kind of honor is always being able to stay healthy for the entire season. For a reliever, that is challenging because of the ferocity with which these guys throw. Still, I have a few names of guys who should lead in those categories.

Strikeouts

If Riley Martin was not at Triple-A, he would be my guy. The main reason Martin could lead the system in strikeouts is that he is a multiple inning reliever. There’s a small problem for Riley. He might not be an Iowa all year. As a left-handed reliever, he is probably first in line to head to Chicago. Then again, it does not really matter what arm he throws with as long as he gets outs and that is what Riley does.

As a result, I’m going to have to roll with someone who should be in the system the entire year. Eduarniel Nunez is a guy that comes to mind pretty quickly. He will start the year at Tennessee, and should be at Iowa at some point this summer. The only concern I may have is if the Cubs only have him throw one inning at a time versus two. Considering that he throws 100 miles an hour with regularity, Ks might be the order of the day. But with his nasty stuff, he could easily come in as the leader.

Other names for consideration included Frankie Scalzo, Jr., Zac Leigh, and Yovanny Cabrera. Had Johzan Oquendo not been placed on the 60-Day IL, he would be in this group.

Strikeouts per Nine Innings

Normally, this would be the same person who would lead the system in strikeouts. However, as I mentioned above, some guys don’t throw as many innings as others. As a result, those guys would not have as many strikeouts. But they could technically still have more strikeouts per inning than the strikeout leader. That’s why I’m going to go with Jake Reindl to take this category. He’s battled injuries since the Cubs drafted him and I am hoping that this is the year that he can stay healthy. Because when healthy, Reindl has the nastiest slider in the system.

Earned Run Average

I’m going to go with Reindl again. With his frisbee slider, he is just unhittable. I would not be surprised to see Angel Gonzalez of South Bend in this category. Nor would Nunez in close proximity to the leaderboard.

One name I look forward to seeing this year is Jose Romero, who should open at South Bend. After his AFL stint, he’s primed and ready to take off this year. In addition, there is always going to be a breakout reliever at Myrtle Beach. Who that is right now, remains to be seen. The biggest longshot is converted catcher Shane Marshall who will be debuting after a solid and healthy spring.

Batting Average Against

As for batting average against, I think Jake Reindl could take this award as well. I would not be surprised to see his batting average against under .150. Reindl is going to have lots of competition for this job.

Out of all the categories, this is the hardest one to select. You could technically re-insert all of the names listed so far today and that would be a good selection of names to see someone emerge at the front.

Saves 

The Tennessee Smokies probably have the best bullpen in the system with Nunez, Reindl, Blake Whitney, and Frankie Scalzo. To begin the year, Nunez and Reindl will probably get more opportunities to save to start the season. But I think Frankie Scalzo is the sneaky pick here. The reason why is the other two guys will probably move up to Iowa and not have as many save opportunities in Triple-A. That leaves Scalzo to hold the bag with all the saves in it. I am going to go with Scalzo here.

I would love to see Romero get this nod, but he is also one who will probably move up if he gets off to a good start.

The most interesting aspect for me in looking forward to the 2024 season is that there is a lot of uncertainty. And that’s a good thing. The system is producing guys to play in the majors. That provides opportunities for other players to step up. For relievers, there are going to be a lot of new names popping this year that we are not all that familiar with. I cannot wait!