Carl Edwards Jr. hitting his mark as setup man for Cubs
Carl Edwards Jr. isn't fooling himself. He knows it's only one month. Even so, the 26-year-old Cubs relief pitcher has quietly put together one of the best months of his career in April.
Edwards did not allow an earned run in 11 appearances in April, he pitched 11 ⅔ innings and struck out 20 hitters. He last allowed a run to cross the plate against the Marlins on March 31.
For the season, Edwards has a 0.66 earned run average, throwing 13 ⅔ innings primarily as the setup man for closer Brandon Morrow. Edwards has not allowed a home run, while striking out 23 and walking five.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound righty doesn't have any grand explanation for his early success.
"I started off pretty good," Edwards said. "I feel like everything is working out. All my pitches, I feel comfortable with them."
In 2017, Edwards appeared in 73 games with a 2.98 ERA in 66 ⅓ innings. He struggled in the postseason, allowing six earned runs in 2 ⅓ innings against the Nationals in the National League division series.
After pitching in all five NLDS games against Washington, Cubs manager Joe Maddon used Edwards only twice in the National League championship series against the Dodgers.
So far in 2018, he appears to have gotten over his October struggles.
Edwards has always relied heavily on his 95-mile per hour fastball, but his usage of the pitch is up slightly from last season, according to FanGraphs. He is throwing fastball on 77.1 percent of his pitches (as opposed to 70 percent in 2017), and his use of the curveball has dropped about an equal amount.
The most glaring change is that hitters aren't making contact as often. Against Edwards, opposing hitters are making contact on 58.5 percent of their swings, well below league average (76.7 percent) and an 8.6 percent drop from how hitters fared against Edwards in 2017.
"I'm not overthinking things," Edwards said. "I just go out there and do what I have to do to keep the team in it and keep everything going smooth for us."
Pitching coach Jim Hickey replaced Chris Bosio over the offseason. Edwards said he got to know Hickey well during spring training and has enjoyed working with the longtime Tampa Bay Rays pitching coach.
As the calendar turned to May, the Cubs starting pitchers stole the show, throwing seven quality starts in eight games between April 24 and Tuesday, ending with Wednesday's 11-2 loss to the Rockies.
The recent string of quality starts has made things relatively easy on Maddon, as far as his use of the bullpen goes.
"When you get that seven [innings], normally you're in pretty good shape," Maddon said. "And the latter two guys in the bullpen are normally pretty consistent, it's a nice formulaic process."
Morrow, the closer signed over the offseason from the Dodgers, has yet to allow a run in 10 innings, converting on all seven of his save opportunities.
Overall, the Cubs bullpen is fourth-best in the majors with a 2.67 ERA. Edwards said it makes it seem easier when everyone around him is throwing well too.
"It's just a trending thing," Edwards said. "It helps everybody regardless of how we go about our business."
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