Player Bio: Randy Wells

With the success of Randy Wells last season and this season, I figured it was time for another player bio.

Randy Wells is a right-handed pitcher who is 6'4" and around 210 lbs and was drafted out of college (Southwestern Illinois College) initially by the Mets in the 44th round of the 2001 draft. Wells decided to go back to college, and the next year the Cubs drafted Wells in the 38th round of the 2002 draft.

In 2002, Wells who was drafted as a catcher struggled mightily in Rookie ball and in Short Season ball where he combined to hit around .160 with no power.

In 2003, Wells was moved to Low A Lansing, where his struggles continued hitting just .150. At that point, Wells moved to the mound where he made 3 appearances in Rookie ball posting a 3.60 ERA. Wells also went back to Lansing and pitched in relief one inning.

In 2004 as a 21 year old at Lansing, Wells went 6-6 with a 4.43 ERA and split time as a starter making 15 starts and in the bullpen as he had a total of 36 appearances. Wells struck out 121 in 107.2 IP, which was a good sign for his future.

The following season, Wells pitched very well at High A Daytona going 10-2 with a 2.74 ERA where again he split time in the bullpen and the rotation where he made 41 appearances, while making 10 starts. Once again Wells struck out more batters than innings pitched, K'ing 106 in 98.2 IP. At Daytona, Wells improved his ability to throw strikes dropping his BB/9 from 3.34 in 2004 to 2.01 in 2005. Wells was moved to West Tennessee at the end of the 2005 season where he pitched in relief for 6 games and managed a 3.86 ERA.

This season Wells handled West Tennessee going 4-2 with a 1.59 ERA and was promoted to Iowa where he has gone 4-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 5 starts. Combined, Wells has gone 8-4 with an ERA of 2.22, which is quite impressive considering he never pitched a full season at AA, West Tennessee. This season, Wells' K/9 numbers have dipped a little to 7.77, but his BB/9 has dropped even lower to 1.76. Also, Wells has proved to be a ground ball pitcher in looking at his minor league splits, as evident by only allowing 4 HRs in 97.1 IP in 2006.

Randy Wells has burst onto the Cubs' prospect scene in 2006 as he is currently handling Iowa nicely, after dominating at West Tennessee. Wells hasn't yet turned 24, as his birth date is August 28th, so he may have a chance at earning a spot on the Cubs roster as early as next season.

Conclusion: If you like numbers, Wells is your type of prospect as he has good K rates, BB rates, HR rates, and pretty much every other statistical category all at relatively average age compared to the league he has been in.