SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Days after being optioned to Triple-A, Caleb Kilian took the mound for the Cubs against the Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon was lined up to pitch Monday. But he’d already faced the Diamondbacks once this spring and is likely to make his first regular season start in the four-game series in Arizona that opens the Cubs’ domestic schedule.
So, instead of giving the Diamondbacks another look at Taillon, the team had him throw a simulated game at the Cubs’ spring training complex Monday morning. And Kilian faced Arizona for 2 ⅓ innings. He gave up four hits and three runs.
“He just needs to be healthy and perform,” manager Craig Counsell said over the weekend. “He’s in that stage of his career. He got off to a great start in spring last year, had a significant injury, and then by the end of the year, kind of got himself straightened out and obviously back to the big leagues.”
Three games into Kilian’s impressive 2024 spring training, he strained the teres major in his right shoulder and began the season on the 60-day IL.
Kilian made two major-league starts at the end of the year. He touched 97.4 mph in both, but his fastball averaged under 94 mph.
“Caleb’s velocity has fluctuated a lot during his career,” Counsell said. “He set a really high bar last spring of what he can get to. He’s not there right now. But he hadn’t been there before, either. So, that’s a tough question to answer. … He’s a healthy pitcher. But when, when you flash 100 [mph], that piques everybody’s interest, there’s no doubt about it.”
On Monday, Kilian topped out at 96.8 mph, according to statcast, and his fastball averaged 95.4 mph, suggesting progress.
Taillon skirts Diamondbacks
Taillon pitched three innings Monday in an all but empty Sloan Park. Minor-leaguers, Cubs staff and a few scattered reporters dotted the seats behind home plate.
“On one hand, you never want to give a team extra looks,” Taillon said of avoiding a second spring start against the Diamondbacks. “And then on the other hand, if you execute good pitches, it really shouldn’t matter that much. But I was all on board with with doing this and not giving them an extra look.”
With Cubs minor-leaguers on both sides, Taillon faced 12 batters and threw about 55 pitches.
“Today is one of those days I just wanted to push the pitch count and push the intensity a little bit,” Taillon said. “I’m working on a lot of stuff behind the scenes, and then when I’m in a game, even in that environment, I try to kick it out. I did throw a few change ups; still working on it. Just kind of go out there and get into compete mode.”
Crow-Armstrong scratched
The Cubs scratched center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong from the lineup Monday with a tight right hamstring. They characterized the move as “precautionary.”
Diamondbacks 10, Cubs 2
Gage Workman and Nicky Lopez led the Cubs with two hits apiece. Workman also contributed an RBI and Lopez scored a run. Each qualified as a hometown kid in a different way. Workman is from nearby Chandler and went to school at Arizona State University. Lopez is from the Chicagoland area, representing a Chicago team for the second year in a row.
- Reliever Tyson Miller, who recorded a 2.15 ERA with the Cubs last year and earned manager Craig Counsell’s trust in high leverage, allowed four runs in ⅔ of an inning Monday. His spring ERA ballooned to 27.00.
- On deck: Padres at Cubs, 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, Mesa, Marquee,, Matt Waldron vs. Shota Imanaga.