Just watched fellow Oregon native Joe Paterson walk Tyler Colvin in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Cubs-Diamondbacks game, making it 6-4 Chicago.
↵Paterson is a Rule 5 guy who was selected from the San Francisco Giants this past offseason. He’s a lefty who has been given the opportunity to be a left-handed setup guy out of the bullpen, but he walked Colvin on four pitches with the bases loaded and Kirk Gibson took him out immediately.
↵Another Rule 5 pitcher is Brian Broderick of the Washington Nationals, a product of Phoenix who had been in the St. Louis organization and who I saw pitch once in the Arizona Fall League this year. He was sharp that day and throughout spring training, but not so much on Sunday when he made his major-league debut against the Atlanta Braves.
↵Broderick’s day was done after 2/3 of an inning and 21 pitches. He gave up four earned runs and committed a balk.
↵I’m pulling for Broderick for more personal reasons. A lot of times these Rule 5 players have done well in the minors but aren’t quite ready for the big leagues when they make a 25-man roster. I’m hoping that isn’t the case and both he and Paterson stick.