Casey Weathers Adds Intrigue to Ian Stewart Trade

Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted yesterday that the Cubs acquired Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers for Tyler Colvin and D.J. Lemehieu. Colvin and Lemehieu may do well, but Stewart (a non-tender candidate) fills an opening in the Cubs' roster.

The Cubs have been rumored to be talking to the Rockies about Stewart since the Winter Meetings began, with Lemehieu and Colvin being mentioned in separate offerings.

The player that came out of nowhere is Casey Weathers, a relief pitcher with electric stuff. Weathers, a former first-round draft choice, is a type of pitcher that may remind you of Carlos Marmol: He features a live fastball that reaches into the mid-90's, a plus slider and absolutely awful command.

Weathers has some ridiculous, video game-esque strike out numbers in his early minor league career: 12.51, 10.96, 16.20 and 12.05 K/9 since before last season. His flaw, as I mentioned before, is his control.

Only once has he posted a walk rate below four in his career. Weathers suffered a blown elbow in 2008 and missed all of 2009 due to Tommy John surgery. Control is typically the last thing to come back following the surgery, so he could be a work in progress.

Weathers could never see a major league bullpen, but his ceiling is that of a closer. At least two more seasons in Double-A could be the forecast for Weathers, so he could be an interesting arm to pay attention as he moves along.

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