Somewhat buried behind the news of Jon Lester’s first start of summer camp was the two-inning relief performance of 25-year-old righty Duane Underwood Jr., who was responsible for six of the 26 strikeouts Cubs pitchers notched in Sunday’s scrimmage. Once one of the top pitching prospects in the system, battles with injuries and inconsistency led to Underwood performing at a mediocre level from 2016-18 at Double- and Triple-A.
Since prospect rankings are all about projection, a mix of what have you done for me lately with what can you do for me in a few years, Underwood’s advanced age and protracted development dropped him from the radar.