As the 2019 South Bend Cubs were being introduced and hopping from the dugout to toe the first base chalk at Four Winds Field, Jack Patterson was nowhere to be seen. The lefty had failed to break spring training with a full-season affiliate less than a year after being drafted in the 32nd round out of Bryant University and had stayed behind for extra work in extended spring training.
But being off a roster and fighting to get back to the diamond was a familiar situation for Patterson, whose month in Arizona was nothing compared to the hiatus he was forced to take in college.