Cubs Minor League Baseball Blog

Playing in the PCL makes it tough for pitchers.  Throw in the fact that the Cubs really don’t have top notch pitching prospects and it makes for some interesting numbers when you mention “stars.”  Still, here were the better pitchers on the team.

Ramon Ortiz – One of the better starters, Ortiz had 16 starts for the Cubs before heading to the big league club. Of course Ortiz is a veteran and no longer a prospect, he did put up some decent numbers in 2011.  He had 81 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings and his 4.26 ERA was one of the best amongst the pitchers with as many innings as he had.  Ortiz is a journeyman though so we’ll see where he ended up in 2012.

Robert Coello – Coello had an impressive 94 strikeouts in 95 innings but he also had 41 walks and a subpar 1.33 WHIP.  He split his time between the pen and the rotation and his fly ball rate is an issue.

Blake Parker – Probably the best reliever for the Cubs, he struck out 60 hitters in 51 1/3 innings and his 2.81 ERA was one of the best on the team.  He did split time between Triple A and Double A and he actually pitched better for Iowa last year.