As Caleb Kilian unloaded a few offerings during his Aug. 17 relief appearance with the Iowa Cubs, the right-handed pitcher occasionally turned around to catch a glimpse of the Principal Park radar gun reading in the outfield.
Much to his delight, Kilian saw his pitches were registering in the high 90s.
“I like seeing that,” Kilian said with a smile.
The high velocity was another strong sign that Kilian was well on his way to returning to his old dominant self. That would be great news for the Chicago Cubs and for Kilian, who was once one of the top young pitching prospects in Minor League Baseball.
“I’m feeling good right now,” Kilian said.
Kilian looks good as well. The 28-year-old tallied back-to-back scoreless outings for Triple-A Iowa after returning from the injured list on Aug. 17. Kilian had missed a large portion of the season after suffering a Grade 2 lat strain that put him on the shelf in April after just one start with Iowa.
During that first and only start with Iowa, Kilian gave up six runs on six hits with a walk and three home runs allowed in just 2 1/3 innings of work. He sensed something was wrong when he noticed his velocity was down a few ticks. Kilian initially thought his soreness was nothing serious, just something he’d just have to pitch through.
He was wrong. The injury landed him on the 60-day injured list and wiped out most of the 2025 season. This was supposed to be a big season for Kilian as he tries to prove himself again after the Cubs released him in April and re-signed him to a minor-league deal. Kilian has barely gotten a chance to show the club what he can still do.
Most of his time has been spent resting, recovering and working out. Still, he tried to make the most of the lost time. Kilian has been plagued by injuries, including a torn muscle in his right shoulder last season. He wanted to do whatever he could to avoid additional setbacks.
So the typically long and lanky pitcher packed on pounds, loading up on carbs — the part of his meals he usually disliked. Kilian figured by adding some weight, he might avoid more trips to the injured list. He ate more meals, made pancakes a part of his breakfast and gobbled up ice cream as he raised his weight to 215 pounds.
He also tinkered with his mechanics. Kilian chatted with roommate Will Jensen, who had worked closely with Tread Athletics, a pitching and development center that has helped pitchers throughout baseball improve their stuff. The two talked for around three hours about mechanics. Kilian learned a lot.
“I didn’t even know you’re supposed to drift,” Kilian said. “I thought you’re supposed to just kind of load up at the top to your balance point and drive. But you’re supposed to actually drift so you can get your momentum. You get gravity kind of working on your side.”
Kilian implemented that into his delivery. Combined with the added weight, Kilian is hoping he can become a contributor for the Cubs. So far, it looks like he might. Kilian said during a simulated game in Arizona, he touched 100 mph. During his first outing with Iowa, he maxed out at 97.9.
“Velo has kind of been the thing I originally was working on and I was building up,” Kilian said. “Because you never know if you’re going to get your velo back, I guess — how good you’re going to feel. But thankfully the lat’s all better. I don’t feel it anymore. And the velo is back.”
Expectations have been high ever since the Cubs acquired Kilian, along with outfielder Alexander Canario, as part of the Kris Bryant trade with the San Francisco Giants. Canario was designated for assignment earlier this year.
It’s been a tough go for Kilian, who struggled during three-game stints with Chicago in 2022 and 2023. He tallied a 4.22 ERA in two games with the Cubs in 2024. Now that he’s healthy and throwing hard again, Kilian hopes he can still be someone the team turns to. This time, it’ll be in a different role with the pitcher now working out of the bullpen.
“It might be a long-relief role, so go out there for two innings, throw as hard as I can and we’ll just see how nasty my stuff can be,” Kilian said.
While making it back to the big leagues and succeeding is the ultimate goal, Kilian has his sights set on accomplishing small things during this tough season.
“My goal right now is just to finish this year strong, throwing hard and staying healthy because that’s all you can really do at this point,” Kilian said. “I’ve missed most of the year. So I should be fresh going into these last few months.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Cubs top pitching prospect Caleb Kilian back as reliever