Samardzija Watch
Jeff Samardzija, former wide receiver at Notre Dame and now a Cubs pitcher, has been promoted from Double-A Tennessee to Triple-A Iowa. He’s slated to start for the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night. He will be taking Sean Marshall’s spot, as Marshall has been called up to make the start at Wrigley on Tuesday night due to Zambrano’s sore arm.
Samardzija has been pitching well in the minors. Overall, he is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.86, but he has shown steady improvement. Over the last five games (27 innings) he has given up eight runs on sixteen hits, with sixteen strike outs and ten walks.
I don’t want to see him rushed to the majors, but I hope he adjusts well to the better competition. He’ll have to pitch well to stay there, as Marshall will most likely be sent back down upon Zambrano’s return and Hill (temporary head-case) will eventually be shipped back to Iowa after being worked on in AZ.