Why the Chicago Cubs optioned Caleb Kilian to Triple A instead of letting him work through his struggles

PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs seemed prepared to let rookie Caleb Kilian work through his struggles in the majors.

Before Kilian got roughed up in Monday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, manager David Ross touted the value of the right-hander working with the big-league staff. But less than 24 hours after Kilian’s command problems prevented him from finishing the third inning, he will be working out those kinks elsewhere.

The Cubs optioned Kilian to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday and recalled right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. The reasoning behind the move is twofold: The Cubs hope Kilian can reset at Triple A and they need a fresh long reliever after taxing their two multi-inning bullpen arms because of his short start Monday.

“The 13-pitcher (limit), you’re going to see some of that,” Ross said Tuesday. “Caleb has got a few things we need him to work on and come back and be a better version of himself. We’ve seen some flashes but just get him back on track a little bit.”

It’s too soon to say who will take Kilian’s turn in the rotation Sunday in St. Louis. With no day off until Monday, the Cubs can’t skip his spot. Right-hander Alec Mills would be an easy choice to slot in after he went 4⅓ innings and threw 74 pitches in relief of Kilian on Monday.

In two starts after being recalled June 15, Kilian surrendered 12 runs (10 earned) on eight hits with 10 walks and three strikeouts in 6⅓ innings.

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“Adversity is important in finding out what you’re made of when things don’t go your way,” Ross said. “The guy’s had a lot of success for a really long time, and he’s done nothing but be great in our organization so far. You come up here and just have a little bit of adversity and not quite yourself, let’s identify what we can do better and get back to who you’ve been when you’re having success.

“I have high confidence he will be back this year pitching big innings for us and an important piece for us.”

Kilian’s recent performance hasn’t resembled what the Cubs saw in his big-league debut June 4. A lack of fastball command and not throwing strikes in general was problematic the past week. He threw 61.4% of his pitches for strikes in his debut; over Kilian’s last two starts, that strike rate dipped to 51.3%.

When a pitcher starts dwelling on throwing strikes or his command, he slows down or becomes very deliberate with his delivery, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy explained. Kilian’s athleticism and big frame require some rhythm to his delivery.

“The minute you back off that, then the release point really starts shifting,” Hottovy said.

Kilian said Monday after his start that he was given leg drills to incorporate between starts. It’s similar to what the Cubs previously worked on with right-hander Keegan Thompson.

The goal is for that movement to transfer into Kilian’s starts and help him stay athletic on the mound. The Cubs want the feeling to become second nature. It’s less about a mechanical cue and more about maintaining his natural rhythm.

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“Guys get to experience the big leagues for the first time and get to be in the whole environment — it can be overwhelming at times, I’m not going to lie,” Hottovy told the Tribune on Tuesday. “We try our best to keep everything simple, but he’s also a very cerebral, smart, internal pitcher. And when you think about a lot of different things, it can affect the way your body moves and the tension you create.”

Hottovy expects the experience and exposure to be a valuable learning tool for Kilian.

“We’re not changing anything, not earth-shattering stuff, so just go back there (to Iowa), go be yourself and get in a rhythm and he’s going to be back,” Hottovy said. “If you look at guys’ careers, a lot of guys come up, make a few starts and go back down.”

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For a pitcher who worked through the minors without notable control issues — 16 walks in 43 innings over 10 starts at Iowa this year — Kilian’s 12 walks in 11⅓ innings during his three starts with the Cubs have been impossible to ignore.

Hottovy believes Kilian was trying to do too much, appearing to try to throw his pitches too good and locate them too well instead of trusting his stuff in the zone.

“Then the next thing you know, when you go need to throw a strike, you’ve been trying to be too fine, and it’s hard to kind of flip that back in your brain,” Hottovy said. “So just trying to do a little too much. That’s not uncommon for young guys when they first come up. We all did it.

“But I think he knows exactly what he needs to do to be successful. I expect to see him go out and have some dominant performance in Triple A real soon.”