Cubbies Who Became Cubs

 The 1995 Rockford Cubbies team set included 26 players.  Just four made it to the majors.  Three of the four played for the Cubs, while the fourth had a brief stay with the Pirates.  All four are pitchers.  None of the position players made it.

 

Richard Barker pitched five innings for the 1999 Cubs.  He gave up six hits and four runs over that time, giving him a career ERA of 7.20.  

 

Somewhere along the way Geremis Gonzalez became Jeremi Gonzalez.  He had the longest MLB career of the four, spanning six years with five different teams.  He started a total of 43 games for the Cubs in 1997 and 1998, posting a record of 18-16.  While his record was over .500, his ERA was not good, 4.71.  He blew out is elbow in July of 1998 and had Tommy John surgery.  He resurfaced with the Devil Rays in 2003.

The Cubs lost Javier Martinez to the A's in the Rule 5 draft in December, 1997. The A's sold him the next day to the Pirates.  He made 37 bullpen appearances for the Pirates.  He had an ERA of 4.83 and a record of 0-1.  The rest of his career was spent in the minors.

 

Steve Rain is the only one of the four that I remember being in the majors.  It was his name, not his performances, that I recalled.  He was a middle relief guy for the 1999 and 2000 Cubs, pitching in 53 games.  His career ERA is 5.46.  Runs rained down.

Four players with 1995 Rockford Cubbies cards.  Four pitchers with career ERAs north of four.  Four forgettable pitchers.