Chicago Cubs minor-league report: Caleb Kilian to make his MLB season debut and Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to wow

Caleb Kilian’s first taste of the big leagues didn’t play out as the right-hander hoped.

Kilian allowed 13 earned runs in 11⅓ innings over three starts for the Chicago Cubs in June. A left knee issue bothered him the rest of the season at Triple-A Iowa where he posted a 5.37 ERA in his final 16 starts. Healthy entering big-league camp this spring, Kilian showed the type of stuff that made him the Cubs’ top pitching prospect last season.

Kilian, 25, gets another major-league chance Saturday when the Cubs will recall him to start against the Miami Marlins.

“He’s always been a confident guy,” vice president of player development Jared Banner said Friday. “I think his delivery is in a really good place and stuff’s in a really good place and that’s a good combination.”

In his last two outings at Triple-A Iowa, Kilian surrendered one run in nine innings with three walks and five strikeouts.

“Having him come up to the big leagues last year and face some adversity and have to go back to the drawing board a bit and seeing his focus and his desire to get better and make certain corrections that he deemed necessary to put himself back in position to potentially have success again, it’s been extraordinary to watch,” Banner said.

“Excited about his future.”

Based on the Cubs’ bullpen usage in Friday’s 3-2 walk-off loss to the Marlins, they will have plenty of bullpen options behind Kilian. Manager David Ross stated postgame saying the Cubs were “a little short” in the ‘pen; Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay could give them multiple innings Saturday depending on how Kilian’s start unfolds.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Owen Caissie start strong

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s rise in the minor-league baseball’s prospect rankings remains full steam ahead.

Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs top prospect and a consensus top 30 player in minor-league ball, owns a .306/.340/.551 slash line at Double A where he is playing for the first time in his professional career. The 21-year-old center fielder’s defense remains a standout part of his game, and he’s shown he can be a menace on the bases.

“He can really wreak havoc on a baseball field with all of the skills and things that he can do,” Banner said. “It’s been a pleasure watching him and he plays so hard too. I really love it, it sets the tone for the whole team, the whole organization really.

“He’s definitely a leader. And the more leaders we have, guys who are continuing to push the Cubs’ way with their actions, the better off we’ll be and he’s definitely one of those guys.”

Owen Caissie, 20, hasn’t seemed overmatched, either, in his first taste of Double A desspite being 3.8 years younger than the average hitter in the league. He has also held his own in lefty-lefty matchups, going 4-for-14 (.286) with three extra-base hits and six RBIs.

Through 15 games, Caissie has posted a .308 average, .410 on-base percentage and 1.064 OPS. Nine of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases, including four home runs, while driving in 14 runs. The outlier in Caissie’s numbers: 29 strikeouts in 61 plate appearances.

“Normally when you see a player struggling with his strikeout rate, they’re not performing really well, so it’s really awesome that he is both performing so well while still struggling in that one area so we can really hone in and try to help him,” Banner said. “It’s already gotten a little bit better and we’ll have to keep tackling that. In the meantime, he’s gonna do a lot of damage.”

Banner believes Caissie’s 47.5 K% largely centers on his timing, adding “he’s not a big chaser.” He also partly attributes Caissie’s strikeout numbers to his age. Only two of Caissie’s PAs have come against a pitcher younger than him.

“He wouldn’t be striking out this much if he was in Low A with the other 20-year-olds, so we have to recognize he’s playing against a lot of pitchers who are much more experienced and very savvy,” Banner said.

Caissie’s last three games with the Tennessee Smokies might hint at the Canadian getting locked in with his timing. He’s drawn five walks and struck out three times in this stretch after tallying at least two strikeouts in 11 of his first 12 games to accompany four walks.

Ed Howard back in game action

Nearly one year after a devastating hip injury ended his season, shortstop Ed Howard is back to game action.

Howard, 21, played in an extended spring training game Friday in Arizona as the designated hitter.

“So proud of him for how much time, energy and focus he’s put into his rehab,” Banner said. “We all just want to see him back out on the field again every day.”

Howard had season-ending surgery on his hip in May following an awkward baserunning sequence where he tried to avoid a tag running to first base, resulting in the injury. Continuing to build up through the rehab process and staying healthy will be important for Howard, who has been limited to 103 minor-league games since the Cubs selected him in the first round of the 2020 draft.

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