The Chicago Cubs promoted Myrtle Beach Pelicans left-handed pitcher Michael Heesch to Triple-A Iowa. In a corresponding move, the Pelicans have received Class-A South Bend hurler Brad Markey.
Heesch, 25, earns his second career call-up to the I-Cubs. A native of Crystal Lake, Illinois and a former USC Beaufort ace, Heesch made one relief appearance and earned the win with three shutout, one-hit innings for Iowa in a 14-inning affair on July 9, 2014, in Omaha. The lefty has been a standout for the Pelicans this year out of the bullpen, with the second-lowest ERA on the pitching staff at 1.85.With a 5-0 record, Heesch has the second-most wins with the Pelicans despite making all of his 19 appearances out of the bullpen. In 34 innings of work, the six-foot, five-inch right-hander has struck out 24 batters and walked 12, allowing just one home run. He holds batters to a .209 average while attaining a 0.99 WHIP. With two saves recorded in two opportunities this year, Heesch has also stranded 80-percent of inherited runners this year (10 of 12) from the bullpen. His promotion comes one day after pitching a season-high four innings in which he allowed one earned run on two hits against the Carolina Mudcats in a 16-4 win. Heesch was selected by the Cubs out of the University of South Carolina Beaufort in the eighth round of the 2012 draft.
Heesch is the 10th Pelican to earn a promotion this year and first to skip Double-A. Starling Peralta, Matt Brazis, Jacob Hannemann, Gerardo Concepcion, Wes Darvill, Billy McKinney, Tayler Scott, Zach Cates, and Cael Brockmeyer have all been promoted to Double-A Tennessee this season. With the roster moves, the Pelicans’ roster is at 24 active players, which is one below the Carolina League limit, and includes seven players on the disabled list and one on the inactive list.
