In about five days, the Chicago Cubs will release their minor league players of the month for July. One will be a hitter. The other should be, for the second straight month, pitcher Jack Patterson. The 23-year-old starter from Myrtle Beach has emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in the system in just 2 and 1/2 months this year after beginning the season in extended spring training. Just this past week, he was ranked number 30, then 29, on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Cub prospects.
Ht: 6’
Wt: 210
Throws: Left
32nd Round Bryant University (R.I.)
Age: 23
ETA – 2020-21
Patterson did not just come from nowhere. He’s been at this for quite a while. The 23-year-old from Connecticut went to Bryant University where he was a reliever in 2014 and 2015. He missed all of 2016 before returning to the pen in 2017. While he did start only three games out of 14 that year, he drew the attention of the St. Louis Cardinals who took him in the 13th round of the 2017 draft. But Patterson returned to Bryant for his senior season where he started 14 games and struck out 101 batters in 82 innings. The Cubs took him in the 32nd round in the 2018 draft.
Heading into the season, I thought he would be on South Bend to start the year. I thought he’d be a little bit too old to return to Eugene in the middle of the summer. Instead, he started in EXST.
I was excited to see him get the call up to South Bend in late April. He initially worked out of the bullpen and was successful in doing so. He only made one start for South Bend on June 12 and was promoted after his appearance on the 28th and was named Pitcher of the Month in June, shortly after his promotion. In 42.1 IP over two months for the Cubs, he whiffed 47 and opponents only hit .195 off him as he put up an ERA of 2.34.
All of Patterson‘s appearances at Myrtle Beach have come in the month of July. He has yet to allow an earned run while striking out 24 in 23.2 innings in the Carolina League. Opponents are hitting less than .104 off him and he has a WHIP of 0.68. In addition, he is getting two ground balls for every flyball. The last time he allowed an earned run was on June 12, 34 innings ago.
Here’s his slider in action.
MLB Pipeline describes what makes him so successful and hard to hit.
“Patterson’s success hinges on a sinker that rivals Erich Uelmen’s as the best in the system. He has sat at 92-93 mph and touched 95 with his two-seamer as a starter, and Class A hitters have struggled to lift it in the air. He throws his curveball and slider in the low 80s, and they’re reliably average offerings when they don’t blend together.“
Just to give you an idea of how good his ability Is to control the zone, here are two eye-popping stats. At South Bend, 66% of the pitches he threw were for strikes, while at Myrtle Beach it’s at 64%. Usually, anything over 65% is considered outstanding. In addition, Patterson has yet to give up a long ball all year long.
Greg Huss is a fellow minor league writer at Cubs Insider who is a big fan of Patterson. I asked him why he likes Patterson so much.
Personally, I like Patterson because he was such a low draft pick and he didn’t even get to start the year in South Bend. He has just proven people wrong in such a short amount of time. Besides that, I think his low 90s fastball and slider are legit from the left side. Those two pitches alone make him a decent bullpen option but I think his 4 pitch mix could be enough as a starter. Plus, the scoreless inning streak has been awesome.
Odds are, Patterson will win back-to-back pitcher of the month awards come early next week. I don’t think it something that’s really happened a lot in the Theo era. Patterson has more than earned the award.
Cubs Central 
[…] not allow an earned all month. Enough said. He did win the Cubs Pitcher of the Month in June and likely win it back-to-back, which would be the first time that has happened in a long while. All from a 32nd round pick. See […]
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