Adrian Sampson had a nice little run for the Cubs in 2022, putting together a 3.11 ERA and 1.227 WHIP in 21 appearances (19 starts). It looked like he might be a decent fifth-starter option for the team this year.
That run might be just about over. Spring stats and all, but Sampson has had a really rough time in five spring appearances covering 17u2154 innings. It’s not the 8.66 ERA — lots of good pitchers have high ERAs in spring — it’s the home runs. Eleven of them. That’s a frighteningly large number even for Spring Training in the thin air of Arizona, and unfortunately long balls were an issue for him last year, with 10 of them allowed in 104u2153 innings.