It leaves some cautious optimism that he could be ready by the time Opening Day rolls around. In ironing out these two pitches, it's certainly likely there will be some bumps along the way. The sinker, too, was easily Sampson's weakest pitch with the worst results and the worst expected outcomes with an xSLG of. By Statcast, the two pitches boast similar movement and only a 0.6 mph difference in velocity. Sampson confirmed in an MLB.com video that part of his struggles can be attributed to working on creating more separation between his fastball and his sinker. Sampson is using Cubs Spring Training to work out kinks in his repertoire Furthermore, of all the people that are concerned, the pitcher himself isn't yet. This is the same pitcher that grinded his way to a 40-man roster spot with the Cubs after having to sign with the Lotte Giants to get his groove back. By no means is it encouraging to see a potential rotation arm throwing batting practice to the Rangers, but incredibly small samples in games that ultimately don't count aren't the biggest worry.Įven if the concern is rising, it's too early to write off Sampson yet. It's often where pitchers tinker with their repertoire and try new things before the games actually matter.
Spring Training comes with a load of caveats though. The poor showing is swaying many fans to already anoint Wesneski the obvious fifth starter and it's hard to argue. Moreover, it's far from the best impression for someone trying to win that last rotation spot especially when his main competition Wesneski has looked stellar so far. Across over 100 innings in 2022, he only gave up the long ball five times. Sampson's performance so far is in stark contrast to who he was last year. Worse, it's the second straight start where he's given up three home runs. Tuesday marked another ugly outing for Sampson, who gave up three home runs, four hits, two walks, and six runs in only 2 2/3 innings. Now, doubt is already starting to creep in.
After surprising fans with a strong performance in 2022, he was seen as the favorite within the organization to take the final spot in the rotation, even beating out the buzzy Hayden Wesneski. Only two starts into Spring Training, things are already looking dour for potential Chicago Cubs starter Adrian Sampson.
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