PITTSBURGH, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — The Chicago Cubs called up left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday. He’s one of their top pitching prospects.
Wicks will wear uniform number 36 and will make his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Wicks played four games for the Rockford Rivets in 2020 where he went 2-0, .52 on 34.2 innings pitched with 52 strikeouts. He becomes the first ever Rivets player to play in a major league game.
Wicks, 23, is 7-0 with a 3.55 ERA (36 ER/91.1 IP) in 20 starts between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa this season, walking 32 and striking out 99, good for an average of 9.8 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. He has pitched to a 1.18 WHIP and held opponents to a .223 batting average, a .293 on-base percentage and a .393 slugging mark. Wicks opened the year at Tennessee, going 4-0 with a 3.39 ERA (22 ER/58.1 IP) in 13 starts before his promotion to Iowa June 29. With the I-Cubs, he is 3-0 with a 3.82 ERA (14 ER/33.0 IP) in seven starts, walking 13, striking out 30 and posting a 1.18 WHIP.
The six-foot three-inch Wicks last season was 4-6 with a 3.80 ERA (40 ER/94.2 IP) in 24 starts between High-A South Bend and Tennessee. Following the season, he was rated as the Cubs No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
The Cubs first-round selection (21st overall) in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Kansas State University, Wicks is 11-6 with a 3.73 ERA (80 ER/193.0 IP) in 48 career minor league starts. He has walked 63, struck out 225 batters (an average of 10.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings) and allowed 22 home runs in 807 batters faced.
