Although the Cubs did not officially confirm Adbert Alzolay as game 2’s starter until just a few hours before first pitch, his 2020 debut had been on the horizon since the start of spring training in February.

“The work I have put in over the last five months is really paying off right now,” Alzolay said after Wednesday’s start.

The 25-year-old right-hander ended 2019 with up-and-down results. Although he finished the season with a 22% strikeout rate across 12.1 innings, one difficult outing in Pittsburgh ballooned his ERA and peripherals. His repertoire featured a four-seam fastball, changeup and curveball, with the latter not generating as much success and minor league scouting reports suggested it would.

Reports this offseason confirmed Alzolay brought back the two-seam fastball he stopped throwing after 2016.

“That sinker is a new toy for him,” David Ross said after Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Alzolay also started messing with his curveball grip to generate more 12-to-6 vertical action as opposed to sweeping action with more horizontal action. It paid off in Wednesday’s battle with the Cardinals as he punched out 3 batters with the pitch and generated 3 swinging strikes.

As the game proceeded, his comfort with the pitch increased. He threw 70% fastballs in the 1st inning, mixing in his four-seamer and two-seamer. By the 3rd inning, he nearly threw as many fastballs as breaking balls. And his changeup, which generated his most positive results in 2019, backed up his breaking ball well, especially versus left-handed hitting. Dylan Carlson whiffed on a fading changeup for strike three out of the zone in the third inning.

But what ties it all together for Alzolay is his mechanics.

“I tell the young pitchers I teach: chest out towards the plate, chin out towards the plate, momentum on target,” Marquee Sports Network analyst Sean Marshall said. “[Alzolay] has a simple, fundamental delivery.”

That delivery and “quick arm,” as Ross put it in his postgame press conference, helped Alzolay top out at 95.8 mph. He finished with 5 innings of 6-strikeout baseball with two hits, one walk and zero earned runs. 

A plethora of pitching is never a problem for any team, but as Tyler Chatwood and Jose Quintana make their way back from injury, the Cubs are loaded with talent that could give the team 5 innings with ease. Alzolay’s stellar debut just makes the Cubs’ roster decisions more complicated.

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