Cubs rookie Hayden Wesneksi trimmed down his pregame routine Thursday, before facing the Padres in the series finale. It was something he’d been working on with the team’s pitching coaches. But he’d also sought advice from rotation mate Marcus Stroman.
“I lean on Stro a little bit with certain things,” Wesneski said. “Because me and him are similar pitchers, we do similar things. And he’s been there done that. He’s thrown a lot of innings, he’s eaten up innings. And some of the advice he’s told me is, throw a little bit less. [pregame].”
The Cubs pitching staff has raved about its collaborative culture. For instance, over the spring, Stroman took cues from Wesneski to get consistent horizontal movement on his slider and successfully implemented it in a Cactus League game that day.
Commonly, veterans’ influence on younger pitchers shows up in their pregame routine. Adjusting to a long major-league season is a process pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and his coaching staff have stressed with plenty of pitchers before Wesneski.
“Our pitching guys do a really nice job of communicating and understanding,” manager David Ross said, “watching with this 30,000 foot view of, ‘OK, you’re out 15 minutes before every other starter and also warming up right until game time. How do we simplify that, where you feel like you’re ready and also not doing too much?’”
They also understand a cookie-cutter approach doesn’t work. Every pitcher has to feel out what’s best for him.
Early last year, when Keegan Thompson was in a swingman role, he kept using his reliever pregame routine before spot starts.
“I can’t explain how valuable it is for a young guy to learn early that you don’t need to make extra throws just to get ready,” Hottovy said then.
As right-hander Adbert Alzolay has transitioned to a full-time relief role, he’s pointed to veteran Brad Boxburger as an influence.
“He’s ready to pitch every single day,” Alzolay said. “So it was looking into his routine during spring training and then taking little things that I knew would help with my routine.”
Boxberger is notoriously stingy with his warm-up pitches. In-game, he said he throws nine or 10 pitches on average when the phone rings – “Can be quicker if need be.”
Boxberger, now a nine-year veteran, went through the process of converting from a starter to a reliever in the minors.
“The adaption has to come,” Boxberger said, “but everyone’s routine’s difference, so just find something that works.”
Wesneski doesn’t expect to carry this version of his routine throughout the season. He’s tinkered with it before, and day-to-day factors will influence it throughout the season. But the overall concept of conserving energy should hold.
“We have been minimizing a little bit like, ‘Hey, do I really need that in my routine?’” Wesneksi said. “And we’re getting ready for the game, not for the bullpen.”
Wesenski came out of that tightened routine Thursday and held the Padres to four hits and one run through five innings. The only run he gave up was a solo homer to Manny Machado. He worked out of bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
“Not the best outing in my career,” he said. “But we’re inching more and more toward a better Hayden.”
CUBS AT MARLINS
Friday: Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.17) vs. LHP Jesus Luzardo (2-1, 3.62), 5:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Saturday: TBD vs. RHP Edward Cabrera (1-2, 4.91), 3:05 p.m., FOX, 670-AM
Sunday: Justin Steele (4-0, 1.19) vs. RHP Bryan Hoeing (0-1, 9.82), 11:05 a.m., Peacock, 670-AM
