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Chicago Cubs: Justin Grimm becoming a strong bullpen weapon

By Dan Schmelzer

Jun 17, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Justin Grimm (52) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 17, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Justin Grimm (52) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Justin Grimm has turned his season around and is becoming a weapon for the Chicago Cubs out of the bullpen.

Justin Grimm was never supposed to be a major piece of the Chicago Cubs bullpen. He started the season clearly behind Wade Davis, Carl Edwards, Pedro Strop, Koji Uehara and Hector Rondon in the pecking order. That being said, the Cubs have been able to count on Grimm as a solid middle reliever in the past and expected to do so again in 2017.

Unfortunately, Grimm had a terrible start to his 2017 season. Through the first two months of the season, Grimm appeared in 13 games for the Cubs, pitching 14.1 innings. He was seemingly hit hard every time out, giving up 12 earned runs in his limited time on the mound, including six home runs. He was also walking batters at a high clip. Simply put, Grimm was struggling and the Cubs made the decision to send him down to Triple-A to get right.

Since returning to the big league club, Grimm looks refreshed. His fastball has a bit more zip to it and his breaking ball is sharp. Since returning from Iowa, Grimm has appeared in nine games for the Cubs out of the bullpen and has put up an impressive 0.90 ERA and 2.02 FIP in his 10 innings of work. His incredible 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate (FanGraphs) suggest that he will continue to have success.

Grimm is a talented pitcher who has a lot of upside in the bullpen. He can be erratic at times, but when he is on, he is incredibly difficult to hit. The Cubs have a strong back-end of the bullpen, making it unlikely that Grimm takes on much of a major role going forward. That being said, he is a great guy for Joe Maddon to have in his back pocket.

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The strength of the Cubs bullpen is centered around Davis, Edwards, Uehara and to a lesser extent Strop. If Grimm continues to perform well, Maddon could start opting for him in pressure situations over guys like Strop and Rondon. In a sense, a consistently good Grimm could take the Cubs bullpen from being good to being elite. He has the ability to solidify the middle innings.

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