We’re still on Justin Steele watch, as the left-handed pitcher continued his rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A on Thursday. It was a new challenge for Steele, who was the starting pitcher in his first two appearances with Iowa, as the lefty came out of the bullpen. It was another multi-inning effort from Steele, and while the results were fine, there might have been a slight step back in his comeback attempt.
Steele ended up throwing 31 pitches in two innings of work. He gave up a pair of runs on four hits, while also striking out three batters and walking none. An encouraging sign was the three whiffs generated by Steele, but his average fastball velocity did decrease after he was in the low 90s with his fastball through his first two games in Triple-A.
Steele was brought into the game to begin the fifth inning. It has long been established by the Chicago Cubs that if Steele does return to the majors in 2026, it will strictly be as a reliever. All three of Steele’s rehab outings have been multi-inning appearances, so it’s not like the Cubs are forcing the issue here and looking to rush Steele back as a traditional one-inning bullpen option.
Maybe it was the loss of adrenaline from coming into the game out of the bullpen compared to starting his first two games with the Iowa Cubs, but the Cubs’ front office certainly won’t lose sight of the drop in velocity. Again, if the team determines that Steele can contribute down the stretch and into the postseason, then Steele will have to get comfortable with a reliever routine.
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You also have to keep in mind that Steele hasn’t pitched regularly in nearly 18 months, so maybe it was simply fatigue as he continues his rehab.
We’ll see if the Cubs change anything in Steele’s rehab, specifically if they do try to have him go one inning at a time, potentially getting the left-hander prepared for a higher volume of appearances as a reliever if he can come back this season instead of leaning on him to pitch multiple innings, but needing longer time to recover between appearances.
The Triple-A season ends on Sept. 20 for the Iowa Cubs. So far, Steele has pitched every fourth day during his rehab stint, meaning that if his schedule remains the same, he could make two more outings with Iowa before the organization decides whether he’s ready to pitch in the majors.
