Neely settling in after shaky debut

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. Manny Randhawa is pinch-hitting on this week’s edition while Jordan is on vacation. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Paul Skenes has the “splinker.” Jack Neely has something more akin to a “splider.” (Admittedly, that terminology could use some workshopping.)

Whatever you call it, it’s a dominant pitch that is a major reason Neely (the Cubs’ No. 18 prospect per MLB Pipeline) was called up to make his Major League debut Wednesday. Chicago acquired the 6-foot-8 right-hander from the Yankees in the Trade Deadline deal that sent Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx.

Neely posted a 2.42 ERA with a 38% strikeout rate over 48 1/3 relief innings between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees' system, and Triple-A Iowa after joining the Cubs' organization.

It was a rough MLB debut for Neely, though. He surrendered four runs over one inning against the Tigers in an 8-2 loss at Wrigley Field.

“I think your first big league experience, that’s a little bit like an out-of-body experience,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “You almost take, ‘I did it. It’s over. Let’s just go back to pitching.’ Don’t take too much from it -- good or bad. That would be kind of my advice in your first big league appearance.”

Neely apparently heeded his new manager’s counsel. The 24-year-old quickly bounced back from his difficult debut -- in two appearances since, he didn't give up a hit while walking one and striking out three.

Neely has a fastball that touches 97 mph, but it’s his slider (or “splider,” if you will) that is his putaway pitch, generating tons of swings-and-misses with its unique movement -- movement that Counsell finally got to see for himself after hearing about it secondhand.

"There's so many right-handers throwing sweepy sliders with horizontal movement, and his is not a horizontal-movement pitch,” Counsell said. “It's more of a downer pitch. It's a little bit different. That's kind of what makes him unique right now. I've heard that it acts like a split-finger a little bit."

The splitter-like slider has generated a whiff rate of 62.5% in a small sample size, and it could be a devastating weapon if it continues to work the way Neely wants it to. With his tall frame, he has some deception in his delivery, and when he’s throwing the slider, the splitter-like action only enhances the degree of difficulty for opposing hitters. It’s averaging 37.2 inches of drop.

A potential piece for the back of the Cubs’ bullpen? That remains to be seen, but the ingredients certainly appear to be there with Neely.