Cubs bring back former first-rounder Ryan Jensen on minor league deal

Jayne Kamin Oncea - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 7 hours ago

Lost in the mix of another starting pitching injury for the Chicago Cubs came a flurry of minor league moves as they continue to retool their organization on the fly. First, Michael Fulmer elected free agency once the Cubs DFAd him and is now in the Kansas City Royals organization pitching for Omaha.

Then, Jake Woodford opted out of his Minor League deal, following a similar move earlier this season as he continues to search for the best path back to the majors. Finally, with Jordan Wicks moving to the MLB roster to take Taillon's spot, an opening arose for the Cubs to make a move, and they did, bringing back former first-round pick Ryan Jensen on a minor league deal.

The move was announced after it was revealed that the Cubs have agreed to release Phil Bickford from his Minor League deal, as the team continues to be aggressive on the Minor League front. For those unfamiliar with Jensen, the right-hander had been pitching in the Twins organization earlier this season, where he struggled right from the jump.

In 29 games this season, Jensen posted a 2-4 record with an ERA close to 7.00 in 28 innings. He did have 39 strikeouts, but also 26 walks, as the command has always been an issue for him. Before playing for the Twins, Jensen was the Cubs first-round pick in 2019, where he spent the first four-plus years of his professional career.

Known for having the best fastball of his draft class, Jensen has always been known for his heater, as it tends to sit in the 97-99 MPH range. With that comes a 91 MPH change and an 88 MPH slider, although neither of those pitchers has been good enough to generate consistent swings and misses. A lot of that has to do with his fastball command, as he has never been a great command pitcher, which has hampered his overall development as a pro.

Despite reaching AAA in Iowa in 2022, Jensen has consistently struggled with control issues and has yet to live up to his full potential. From 2019 to 2022, he tossed 151 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.04 earned run average. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced and got ground balls on more than half the balls in play he allowed, but he also gave out walks at a 13.1% pace. Walk numbers aside, the rest of his stats are good, as he showed MLB potential across the board.

Following the 2022 season, the Cubs faced a tough decision regarding Jensen, and instead of losing him in free agency, they opted to add him to their 40-man roster. He was waived later in the season and was claimed by Seattle, and the rest is history, as Jensen has bounced between the Seattle and Minnesota organizations ever since.

From the start of 2023 to the present, he has thrown 149 2/3 minor league innings with a 5.35 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, and plenty of ground balls but an 18.3% walk rate. That goes to show that the strikeout stuff is still there, but his command remains a massive concern, even more so now than before. The Twins' patience was wearing thin, as they had elected to move on from the hard-throwing right-hander.

Now, at 27 years old, Jensen is entering the conversation of an MLB bust. He may be one of those talented pitchers that never makes it to the show. The Cubs aren't ready to give up on him just yet as they are bringing him back for another look as he will take over for Bickford in AAA.

Still, with a massive fastball, the key for Jensen will be to control it, as he needs to set up his other two pitchers. If, by chance, the Cubs can figure out a way for him to cut down on the walks, you may finally see what Jensen is all about as he aims for one last opportunity to reach the show.