Former Rockford Rivet Jordan Wicks Debuts with the Cubs

August 28, 2023 - Northwoods League (Northwoods) News Release

Rochester, Minn. - Former Rockford Rivet Jordan Wicks made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, August 26, 2023. Wicks is the 333rd former Northwoods League player, and the first former Rivet to reach the Major League level.

Wicks, who played collegiately at Kansas State University, played for the Rivets in 2020. He was drafted by the Cubs in the 1st round, 21st overall, of the 2021 MLB Draft.

In 2020 with the Rivets, Wicks appeared in four games and was 2-0 with a .45 ERA. He struck out 29 batters in 20.0 innings while walking five.

Wicks started his professional career in 2021 with the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Central League. He pitched in four games and went 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA. Over 7.0 innings he struck out five while walking three.

Wicks began the 2022 season with South Bend and then was promoted, after 16 games, to the Tennessee Smokies of the AA Southern League. Between the two clubs he appeared in 24 games and was 4-6 with a 3.80 ERA. He stuck out 121 batters in 94.2 innings while walking 28.

Prior to his call-up to the Cubs, Wicks had started the season with Tennessee and then moved to the Iowa Cubs of the AAA International League. For the year he was 7-0 with a 3.55 ERA in 20 games. He had 99 strikeouts in 91.1 innings and a 1.172 WHIP. In his Major League debut against the Pirates, Wicks started the game and went 5.0 innings allowing one run on two hits while striking out nine. He became the first Cubs pitcher since at least 1901 to strike out nine or more batters in his MLB debut. Wicks retired the final 15 batters he faced before exiting the game. The 15 consecutive batters retired is the best performance in a Cubs debut since 1974. Finally, Wicks became just the third Cubs pitcher to record a win and strike out at least nine batters in his MLB debut, joining Mark Prior (2002) and Dutch Reuther (1917).

Northwoods League Stories from August 28, 2023

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• Former Rockford Rivet Jordan Wicks Debuts with the Cubs - Northwoods

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