Cubs select the contract of left-hander Brooks Raley

SAN DIEGO – The Chicago Cubs today selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Brooks Raley from Triple-A Iowa.  Right-handed pitcher Matt Garza was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retro to July 28) with a right elbow stress reaction. 

Raley, who will wear uniform number 43, joins the first major league roster of his professional career and will make the start for the Cubs tonight in San Diego.

The 24-year-old Raley was drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2009 Draft out of Texas A&M, where he was a unanimous All Big 12 first-team selection in his final season with the Aggies in 2009.  Raley was born in San Antonio and graduated from Uvalde (Tex.) High School in 2007.

Raley began the 2012 season with Double-A Tennessee, where he went 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA (19 ER/48.2 IP) in eight starts, walking only 12 batters in 48.2 innings.  Raley earned his first promotion to Triple-A Iowa on May 22 and went 4-8 despite a 3.62 ERA (33 ER/82.0 IP) in 14 starts.  The southpaw earned Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July honors after posting a 2.12 ERA (7 ER/29.2 IP) in five July starts, the fourth-lowest ERA among Pacific Coast League pitchers.  Raley has combined to go 6-10 with a 3.58 ERA (52 ER/130.2 IP) in 22 minor league starts this year.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Raley is less than two years removed from Single-A Daytona, where in 2010 he spent the full season and went 8-6 with a 3.50 ERA (53 ER/136.1 IP) in 27 starts.  Raley spent a full season in Double-A last season, going 8-10 with a 4.22 ERA (64 ER/136.1 IP) in 26 appearances (25 starts). 

Raley has gone 22-27 with a 3.74 ERA (172 ER/414.0 IP) in 80 career minor league appearances, all but three as a starting pitcher.

Garza, 28, is 5-7 with a 3.91 ERA (45 ER/103.2 IP) in 18 starts for the Cubs this season.