Rookie right hander Jaye Chapman was one of two pitchers the Cubs acquired from the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Paul Maholm and outfielder Reed Johnson at the July 31 deadline. The other, right hander Arodys Vizcaino, was the key to the deal even though he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But Chapman has impressed the bosses since joining the team Sept. 4 from Class AA Tennessee.
“Chapman has impressed us with his mound presence and how he has faced hitters,” manager Dale Sveum said. “He’s opened our eyes.”
Chapman is 0-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 10 appearances, his loss coming Saturday after allowing a run in the 10th in his third appearance in four days.
But eight of his 10 appearances have been scoreless outings.
Sveum has hopes that relievers Rafael Dolis (2-4, 6.48 ERA, four saves) and Alberto Cabrera (1-1, 5.30 ERA) will continue to improve to be part of the 2013 outlook.
“Dolis has made strikes, and Cabrera as well. Those young guys with power arms are what we’re looking for in spring training and next year in the bullpen. Bullpens are very difficult to put together, and finding diamonds in the rough like we did with Shawn Camp [signed in spring training] is a hard thing to do.”
