Brandon Morrow looked like an elite closer, one worth a two-year, $21 million contract, at last year’s All-Star break. Mere months after tossing 4.2 scoreless innings to help the Dodgers dispatch the Cubs in the NLCS, Morrow was setting a career high in saves with his new club.
The righty flamethrower had blown just two opportunities all season, racking up 22 saves with a 1.47 ERA and looking every bit as dominant as the numbers indicated. The clips of Morrow’s 99 mph fastball moving almost like a breaking ball flooded Cubs twitter and made fans wonder whether he could be even better than Aroldis Chapman or Wade Davis.