Daniel Palencia Might Be Back

Daniel Palencia went three straight appearances without getting a whiff and got only one swing-and-miss on 60 total pitches over a period of four starts. His fastball velocity had been trending down to around 98 mph and the Cubs had lost each of the first seven games in which he appeared after being activated from the IL on August 21. They finally broke that skid last Friday against the Pirates as Palencia picked up another whiff in the exact kind of garbage-time outing I was hoping he’d get.

While they lost again on Sunday, Palencia was called upon to face the Pirates’ 9-1-2 hitters in the top of the 9th with the Cubs trailing by a run. He proceeded to get two whiffs out of five sliders and two more on 10 fastballs, giving him his most in a game since early June. His heater sat 98.8 mph, the highest it’s been in six games. It wasn’t a perfect outing because he walked Oneil Cruz, but that wasn’t an uncompetitive plate appearance.

I know that we should be expecting more of the would-be closer than to say he at least looked competitive, but that’s where we’ve gotten. Palencia really needed a confidence-building appearance or two to get back into the right frame of mind, and I suspect he’s really close to being there if he’s not already. The bullpen has sneakily looked a lot better over the last couple of weeks, and keeping that up will be a major development for a team that is still battling for a playoff spot.