Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, May 3, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
AP
Professional scouts are always on the lookout for versatile, multisport athletes.
There might be some sports that don’t quite translate, however. As a kid, Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski thought about wearing the cowboy hat instead of a baseball cap and becoming a bull rider.
He never got too serious about rodeo, but his Aunt Jenny had done some barrel racing and was anxious to spread the love of rodeo skills within the family.
“We would watch rodeo, watch the bull riding,” Wesneski said. “They had this little green plastic horse that me and my brother would ride and we’d fall off. But that’s what my family did.
“My aunt wanted me and my brother Cole to be in the rodeo so bad. For Christmas she would get us cowboy clothes, hats or boots or something. She thought she was winning, but once we picked up a ball it was kind of over with.”
Wesneski estimates it was close to an even split between attending the rodeo and going to baseball games when he grew up in suburban Houston. His first trip to watch the Astros might have been the turning point.
“Soon after that, I probably dressed up as an Astros player for Halloween,” he said. “I think that’s when the rodeo stuff got put away.”
As mentioned above, Wesneski never got to the point where he was trying to lasso sheep or any of the other kids rodeo activities. He had cousins who raised turkeys and pigs as part of Future Farmers of America.
Some of his college baseball teammates at Sam Houston State had a cow-shaped structure made out of PVC pipe in the backyard and would try to lasso it.
“One of the guys I played with rode bulls when he was younger,” Wesneski said. “His mom pulled him out of that. I was just all around it. You don’t have a choice when you’re from Texas.”
Wesneski grew up in the suburban environment of Cypress, Texas, though he admits his high school, Cy-Fair, had the nickname “Cy-Farms.” And he was a multisport athlete, serving as Cy-Fair’s backup quarterback.
“It was the most country of those high schools,” he said. “Once I got to middle school, I stopped doing the whole rodeo thing and got farther and farther away from it.”
Wesneski made the right choice, it would appear. He started the season in Triple A, but since returning to the Cubs, he’s been impressive, with just 1 earned run in 16⅔ innings. He tossed 6-plus scoreless innings against the Brewers on Friday.
After the game he reflected on disappointing results in spring training (9.82 ERA) and felt the Cubs did the right thing by sending him to Iowa.
“I needed to start in Triple A,” Wesneski said. “I was not in a good head space. I didn’t think my mechanics were right. I did not deserve to make the team. I wasn’t pitching well and I needed that time.”
In hindsight he didn’t think his off-season plan was very good. But most young pitchers probably need to go through some trial and error to figure out what works best.
“I was working out and I was doing all the right things, I just didn’t attack it the way I wanted to,” Wesneski said. “I just wish I would have thrown more bullpens and I would have thrown more live (batting practice) and wish I would have thrown a little harder, earlier. I felt like I wasn’t ready for spring training.”
Whatever went wrong in the winter is back on track now. Opposing batters are hitting .091 against Wesneski’s sweeper. He’ll likely stay in the starting rotation for the next couple of weeks but could eventually end up in the bullpen, where the Cubs need help badly.
What’s not in his future is riding a bull or twirling a rope. But he’s still pro-rodeo.
“You should go to a rodeo sometime,” he said. “They’re cool. The small-town ones, they’re kind of legit.”
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports
After throwing 5 scoreless innings in his major league debut on Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski explained how Statcast and the Wrigley Field scoreboard got his pitch description wrong.
Associated Press