Hayden Wesneski Frontrunner to be HR Derby Pitcher
What the fuck has happened to Hayden Wesneski? He had a 1.84 ERA through his first 29.1 innings and now he’s getting pounded harder than your favorite actress on Blacked. Wesneski gave up six home runs in 12.1 innings during the month of June and the awful trend continued Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Seriously, if you’re a hitter who is going to be competing in this year’s HR Derby, then you should consider giving Wesneski a call so that he can to pitch to you. The Cubs right-hander has now surrendered 10 home runs in the last 20.2 innings pitched dating back to May 23.
A home run every other inning? Insane.
In the series opener at Wrigley on Tuesday against the Phillies, Wesneski got crushed twice by Trea Turner. The Phillies shortstop hit a two-run homer in the third inning and then obliterated another two-run bomb in the fifth.
None of these are cheapies against Wesneski and the bad thing is that even with his great start to the 2024 season his issues with the home run ball go back to last season.
Cubs TV analyst Jim Deshaies brought it up on Marquee during Wesneski’s start on Tuesday. Entering the game, Wesneski had the second highest home run rate among NL pitchers with at least 100 inning since the beginning of the 2023 season.
A lot has gone wrong for the Cubs this year, but the starting pitching has actually been one of the bright spots on the team entering July. However, Wesneski has been one of the younger-ish pitchers who has taken a step back as the season has progressed and ultimately he’s wasting an opportunity that was only available after some injuries.
Well, soon Wesneski isn’t going to have these chances to start and he’ll most likely get optioned back to Triple-A sometime this month. Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather are all trending toward a return to the Cubs in July.
Wesneski isn’t pitching like a guy who deserves a spot on the staff.
If anything, Wesneski is becoming a meme every time he pitches and gives up monster home runs.
Wesneski is scheduled to start again on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field. Don’t forget to place your home run bets.