Randy Wells Rehab Start on Tuesday!!
Wells, 28, has been on the disabled list since April 6 with a right forearm strain. He made his season debut at Wrigley Field on April 4 and beat Arizona 4-1. In that contest Wells limited the Diamondbacks to one run on six hits and four walks over six innings while striking out six. The Belleville, IL native was 8-14 last season with a 4.26 ERA in 32 games. He struck out 144 batters in 194 1/3 innings. Wells permanently joined the Cubs rotation on May 8, 2009 and he went 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA in 27 starts as a rookie. The 3.05 ERA placed him 10th in the National League for the 2009 season while the 12 wins landed Wells 20th in the N.L. In the 2009 season he struck out 104 batters in 165 1/3 innings. Overall in 63 career MLB games and 59 starts, Wells is 20-24 with a 3.65 ERA.
Wells started out as a catcher with the Cubs organization and spent two seasons in the Midwest League with the Lansing Lugnuts, one as a catcher and one as a pitcher. In 2003 he hit .149 with one RBI and five runs scored in 24 games behind the plate as Lansing won the Midwest League title. The next season he went 6-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 36 games and 15 starts for the Lugnuts. He picked up his only save of the season on May 10 against the Chiefs at Oldsmobile Park despite allowing four runs over four innings. He came out of the bullpen at O'Brien Field on July 2 and allowed two hits while striking out two in two innings of work.
Wells was drafted by the Cubs in the 38th round of the 2002 draft out of Southwestern Illinois Community College. He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2007 Rule V draft and made his MLB debut for Toronto on April 5, 2008 with one shutout inning against Boston. On April 16, 2008, Wells was returned to the Cubs and he spent the 2008 season going 10-4 for Iowa before making his Cubs debut on September 17 against Milwaukee. As a pitcher in the Minor Leagues, Wells went 43-26 with six saves and a 3.75 ERA in 184 games and 82 starts. He last pitched in the minors for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in 2009 when he was 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA in five starts.
Season ticket holders have priority on seat selection until Noon on Monday. However, tickets are still available for the general public immediately by calling 1-866-MYTICKET, online or at the O'Brien Field Box Office. The Box Office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Monday through Friday. Due to the Major League rehab, the Never-A-Wasted ticket policy is suspended for Tuesday night. Tuesday is the second KRAFT Singles Tuesday where fans can bring one KRAFT Singles American Cheese wrapper to the O'Brien Field Box Office for a buy one, get one free ticket offer.
Wells is the first Cubs rehab of the 2011 season and the Chiefs had three rehabs last year in Ted Lilly, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Silva. In addition to the three from last season, the rehab list since the affiliation change in 2005 includes: Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood (2005, 2006 & 2007), Mark Prior, Reed Johnson, Angel Guzman, Juan Mateo, Wade Miller, Scott Williamson, Henry Blanco, Scott Eyre and Jon Lieber.