Dillon Maples has such tantalizing raw stuff that you can’t help but drool when imagining him put it all together. He’s one of those guys even fans of other teams like to watch pitch, and not just because they know he’ll probably walk at least one batter before throwing two wild pitches to make it a triple. But for all that talent, Maples’ inability to throw strikes has kept him on the shuttle for the last four seasons.
His yo-yo journey continued Thursday when the Cubs optioned him back down to their alternate site at South Bend. The 28-year-old appeared in two games and allowed three runs on one hit and four walks, striking out just one.