Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs Call Up Caleb Kilian Ahead of Series Finale vs. Braves

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Rob Wegley | Last updated 8/6/23

The Chicago Cubs are in the middle of a playoff race, and they're bringing up some reinforcement from the minor leagues in 26-year-old pitcher Caleb Kilian. The right-hander has been pitching well as of late with Triple-A Iowa, so Chicago decided to give him another look in the majors. In a corresponding move, the Cubs optioned left-hander Anthony Kay to Iowa.

Kilian, who joined the Cubs organization as part of the Kris Bryant trade with the San Francisco Giants, made a spot start for Chicago back in April. It... didn't go great. Pitching 3.1 innings, Kilian surrendered seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks against the Marlins. At the time, it was just another sign that the former top prospect may not be able to cut it as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. In 2022, Kilian was rocked in three starts for a 10.32 ERA.

Moreover, for a while this year, Kilian was getting beat up in Triple-A, too. He started the year giving up eight earned runs in 2.1 innings. However, Kilian seems to have found more of a groove as of late.

Over his last seven appearances (six starts and one piggyback start), the righty has a 2.43 ERA in 37.0 innings. His BB/9 is just 2.43 during that time, too. Kilian is looking confident and hitting the upper 90s on his fastball, and his command has been much more on par with his scouting report before he started adding more velocity and spin to his pitches.

On the season as a whole in Triple-A, Kilian has a 3.97 ERA in 88.1 innings. The strikeout rate is low (just an 18.5 K%), but one has to wonder if a move to the bullpen can nudge that figure in the right direction. Perhaps Kilian can really tap into his fastball velocity and worry less about having to mix up pitches between all his secondaries.

To bring Kilian up, the Cubs optioned one of their only weapons against left-handed hitters in southpaw Anthony Kay. Granted, Kay was roughed up in his last appearance (four earned runs in one inning at the tail end of a 20-9 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds).

Still, replacing Kay with Kilian speaks to some confidence the organization has in Kilian to bring him up as the Cubs try to scratch their way into the playoffs. It'll be fascinating to see how Kilian does in a different role. Here's hoping it's great for him.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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