CHICAGO -- Some Major League debuts take place after a player has climbed an organizational ladder amid the prospect hype machine, reaching the main stage with the spotlight fixed on their every move. Others feature performances that seemingly come out of nowhere -- an unheralded player suddenly reaching cult hero status.
Whether they are a highly touted prospect, journeyman or run-of-the-mill player, they all face the same nerves and jitters as anyone else. And in the long history of the Cubs, there have been plenty of examples of players seizing their debut moment. Here are our picks for the best MLB debut performances in team annals.
1. Starlin Castro
Date: May 7, 2010
Castro got the call as a 20-year-old, slotted into the lineup as Chicago’s shortstop and went out and made history in a 14-7 win on the road against the Reds. Not only did Castro join the list of players to belt a homer in their first MLB at-bat, but he set a Major League record with six RBIs in his debut. Castro connected for a three-run blast off Homer Bailey in the second and later added a bases-clearing triple in the fifth.
2. Kosuke Fukudome
Date: March 31, 2008
The Cubs signed Fukudome to a four-year, $48 million contract prior to the ‘08 season, making him the first Japanese player in franchise history. On Opening Day that year, he electrified the Wrigley Field crowd with an incredible debut. Fukudome finished 3-for-3 with a single, double, home run, walk and three RBIs. Fukudome hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth off Eric Gagne, though his heroics could not stop the Brewers pulling out a 4-3 win in 10 innings.
3. Mark Prior
Date: May 22, 2002
Prior gets the nod for the best pitching debut in Cubs history due to how he lived up to all the hype surrounding his first Major League start. Selected with the second overall pick in the 2001 Draft, Prior had just nine outings in the Minors before getting the call to Chicago. The highly touted 21-year-old righty then went out and set a Cubs franchise record with 10 strikeouts in his six-inning debut during a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh.
4. Jeff Pico
Date: May 31, 1988
Pico’s career with the Cubs and in the big leagues lasted just three years, but the righty authored one of the great debut performances in the team’s long, storied history. Facing a Reds lineup featuring Barry Larkin and Eric Davis, the 22-year-old Pico spun a shutout with six strikeouts, no walks and four scattered hits in a 4-0 win. It marked the first shutout in an MLB debut in team history since 1909 (King Cole).
5. Nico Hoerner
Date: Sept. 9, 2019
Hoerner's inclusion in the Top 5 has as much to do with his performance as it does with the context surrounding his debut in San Diego. The Cubs were clinging to playoff hopes, and injuries left them in need of a shortstop. Hoerner was already at home after the Minor League season concluded, but he received an unexpected call to The Show. He then went 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and four RBIs in a 10-2 romp over the Padres.
6. Ron Santo
Date: June 26, 1960
The Cubs were in last place and riding a nine-game losing streak when a doubleheader arrived against the powerhouse Pirates. The North Siders called up the 20-year-old Santo, who helped spark the offense in a brilliant beginning to a Hall of Fame career. The third baseman had a three-run double off Bob Friend as part of a 2-for-4 showing in Game 1 and then added a hit and two more RBIs in the nightcap, doing his part in a twin-bill sweep in Pittsburgh.
7. Shawn Boskie
Date: May 20, 1990
Squaring off against ‘86 Cy Young winner Mike Scott, the 23-year-old Boskie did a little bit of everything in a 5-1 win over the Astros. The righty went the distance, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk in nine frames. Boskie also finished 2-for-4 in the batter’s box with an RBI double off Scott. A first-round Draft pick by the Cubs in ‘86, Boskie spent parts of five years with the team, but he never recaptured the magic of that first start.
8. Jorge Soler
Date: Aug. 27, 2014
Part of a wave of position-player prospects starting to reach Chicago in the leadup to the 2016 title team, the 22-year-old Soler showed off his elite power right away against the Reds. In the second inning in Cincinnati, Soler launched a homer in his first MLB at-bat, as part of back-to-back blasts with Luis Valbuena. Soler then added an RBI single in the eighth inning, though it was not enough to avoid a 7-5 loss to the Reds.
9. Shota Imanaga
April 1, 2024
Imanaga joined the Cubs from Japan as a free agent and was an immediate sensation in Chicago. It began with the lefty’s outing in the home opener, in which he spun six shutout innings with nine strikeouts, no walks and two hits allowed in a 5-0 win over Colorado. Imanaga would log an 0.84 ERA in his first nine games, make the NL All-Star team, start a combined no-hitter and garner Cy Young and Rookie of the Year votes in his first MLB tour.
10. Thomas Diamond
Date: Aug. 3, 2010
Diamond joined Prior as the only two Cubs to strike out 10 in their MLB debuts. He did so during a six-inning performance in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers. Diamond made two more starts for Chicago, moved to the bullpen and did not pitch in the big leagues after the 2010 season.
Apologies to (among others):
- Jordan Wicks, who piled up nine strikeouts with one run allowed in five innings of a 10-6 win over the Pirates on Aug. 26, 2023.
- Hayden Wesneski, who came out of the bullpen on Sept. 6, 2022, and posted eight strikeouts and one walk over five innings in a 9-3 win over the Reds.
- Javier Báez, whose first MLB hit (in his sixth at-bat) was a go-ahead homer in the 12th inning of a 6-5 win over the Rockies on Aug. 5, 2014.
- Ryan O'Malley, who turned in eight shutout innings opposite Andy Pettitte in a 1-0 win over Houston on Aug. 16, 2006.
- Amaury Telemaco, who went toe to toe with Doug Drabek and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in a 13-1 win over Houston on May 16, 1996.
- Roberto Pena, who went 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs (and three errors) in a wild 10-10, 11-inning tie with the Cardinals that was called due to darkness on April 12, 1965.
- Frank Ernaga, who had a homer and a triple off Warren Spahn in a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Braves on May 24, 1957.
- Dee Fondy, who went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs in an 8-3 win over the Reds on April 17, 1951.
- Andy Pafko, who had a two-run single and a two-run double off Bill Lee in a five-inning, rain-shortened 7-4 win over the Phillies on Sept. 24, 1943.
- Dutch Ruether, who dominated the Pirates over nine innings with nine strikeouts in a 6-1 win on April 13, 1917.