Cubs to recall Kilian for Wednesday start vs. Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Cubs will call up top pitching prospect Caleb Kilian from Triple-A Iowa to start Wednesday vs. the Padres, manager David Ross announced.
Kilian threw five solid innings in his big-league debut June 4 against the Cardinals. The Cubs optioned him back to Iowa after that start, but the rotation has since been hit hard by injuries in recent days.
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Marcus Stroman (Friday) and Wade Miley (Saturday) each landed on the IL over the weekend.
“He had a really nice start last time,” Ross said after Tuesday's 12-5 loss to the Padres. “I think he probably learned a few things from that, and we'll go out here and compete again."
Because Kilian has not spent 15 days in the minor leagues since his option, the Cubs will have to make an IL move to call him back up.
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Kilian, 25, was perfect through three innings in his debut before allowing three runs in the fourth inning. He bounced back with a scoreless fifth inning to finish strong.
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Ross and Kilian had a constructive conversation after his debut that included Jed Hoyer and Tommy Hottovy allowing Kilian to assess his performance.
Ross did not want to place expectations on Kilian's shoulders for Wednesday's outing.
“We’ve got to give the young man a body of work before we start tinkering and changing," Ross said. "Let's see what kind of pitcher he is first before we start suggesting he should do something different.
“I think the version of him that we saw last time is good enough. We score a couple runs and play some good defense behind him, we’ll have a chance to win the game.”
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