Chicago Cubs: Things to watch for in spring training

Will Carl Edwards’ new delivery bring more consistent results?

Carl Edwards Jr. has all the talent in the world, but his lack of control has made him unusable at times.

When he’s on, Edwards is one of the best relievers not just on the Cubs, but in all of the league. In his first 47 appearances of 2018, Edwards was lights out. In those 45 innings, he posted a 2.20 ERA and had a 20.7 K-BB%.

The final 11 games of his season were a totally different story.

In those games – all coming in the middle of the playoff race in September – Edwards lost all semblance of control. During that stretch, his ERA was a miserable 5.14 and his K-BB% was -7.9 percent. He walked a batter in all but one of his appearances that month.

Having vastly different outcomes during the same season isn’t anything new for Edwards. He had similar stretches in 2017.

In that season, Edwards had a 1.07 ERA and a 26.3 K-BB% from the start of the season through June 11th. From June 12th through August 11th, he lost command of his pitches and had a 6.86 ERA and a 9.7 K-BB%. Edwards then regained control, posting a 1.25 ERA and 29.7 K-BB% from August 11th until the end of the regular season.

Edwards has the tools to be one of the game’s elite relief pitchers, but his unpredictable stretches have kept him from fully realizing that potential.

In an effort to get more control over his pitchers, Edwards changed his delivery this offseason, incorporating a hesitation, just like one of the game’s best closers.

With his new delivery, here are a few things to watch for:

• Is he stable and keeping his momentum going towards the plate with this new delivery?
• Is he hitting the catcher’s target spot more regularly?
• When he misses his spot, is he missing close or does the pitch end up nowhere near the intended target?

If this change in his pitching motion brings Edwards more consistency on the mound, he’ll quickly become the best bullpen arm on the team.