MILWAUKEE — Jack Leathersich’s final appearance for Class AAA Iowa came Sept. 1. The Chicago Cubs designated him for assignment the next day. He went home to Beverly, Mass., but kept throwing, just in case.
“I thought I had a pretty good year, I thought I had a pretty good chance of getting claimed by somebody,” he said.
Two days later, the Pirates claimed him off waivers, and on Sunday they added him to their major league bullpen.
“It’s awesome. My whole mom’s side of the family grew up in Pittsburgh,” he said. “I’ve been traveling there my whole life. It’s kind of like a dream team to be a part of. It’s great and I’m really excited about it.”
The 27-year-old left-hander pitched in one game for the Cubs this season. He appeared in 17 games for the New York Mets, the team that drafted him out of UMass Lowell, in 2015. While recovering from Tommy John ligament replacement surgery, performed in the summer of 2015, Leathersich took some time to regain his confidence and his arm slot, but when he did, his performance sharpened.
“I was back in games in 10 months, but I just couldn’t recover,” Leathersich said. “So I’d throw and then the next two days were pretty miserable.”
Through the end of May, Leathersich had a 9.26 ERA, a .450 on-base percentage allowed and a .523 slugging percentage allowed. He had also walked 13 batters in 11⅔ innings. Since then he posted a 1.08 ERA with a .504 on-base plus slugging percentage and 57 strikeouts in 33⅓ innings.
“It took me awhile to find my arm slot again,” Leathersich said. “And then after I found it it’s been pretty good since then.”
Kuhl to be skipped?
The Pirates are considering removing Chad Kuhl from the rotation for a start, like they have with Ivan Nova and Jameson Taillon, though manager Clint Hurdle said they have not finalized any plans.
Steven Brault started Monday’s game in Taillon’s place and Tyler Glasnow will start Wednesday. The Pirates are off Thursday.
The one pitcher the Pirates will not skip, Hurdle said, is Gerrit Cole.
Benoit leaves team
Joaquin Benoit left the team and returned to his hometown of Santiago in the Dominican Republic to attend to a family matter, Hurdle said. The absence is not related to Hurricane Irma.
Altoona in the championship
Class AA Altoona will play Trenton in the Eastern League Championship series, which begins Tuesday. The Curve beat Trenton in the championship in 2010 to win their only Eastern League title.
Left-hander Brandon Waddell, a fifth-round pick out of Virginia in 2015, is scheduled to start Game 1. Top pitching prospect Mitch Keller, who threw a one-hit shutout in the semifinals, is scheduled for Game 3.
Irma damage minimal
LECOM Park and the Pirate City spring training complex in Bradenton, Fla. avoided significant damage from Hurricane Irma, according to team spokesperson Brian Warecki. The fields took on a lot of water, and the wind knocked down some trees and fencing. The Pirates plan to have their maintenance team do an in-depth assessment and begin to clean up on Tuesday.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: September 11, 2017, 10:27 p.m.