3 Cubs on thin ice if they miss the playoffs

Daniel Palencia may not be ready to play a role in a major league playoff push

In the latest update of MLB Pipeline’s top prospect rankings, Daniel Palencia comes in as the Cubs’ 15th ranked prospect. The 23-year-old righty finds himself as one of the better pitching prospects in the Cubs system, but the results haven’t quite shown his true potential just yet.

To say that Palencia has struggled a little this season would be an understatement. He began the season with the Cubs Double-A team as a starter. After five starts, he had thrown 15.1 innings, walked nine batters and surrendered 10 runs.

Palencia was then called up to Triple-A, but his role was changed. He was moved to the bullpen and the results weren’t any better. The former international signee would throw 13.2 innings and allow 12 earned runs before he was given the promotion to the big leagues.

In his big-league time, the results have been much of the same, where he’s seen the same control problems that have plagued him in the past. In the month of August, Palencia has thrown 2.1 innings and surrendered five earned runs. This kind of production likely isn’t indicative of his entire career, as he still has the potential to figure things out, but the Cubs can’t have a reliever like this in their bullpen to make a playoff push.

He’s definitely on thin ice for the rest of the year.