By Andrew Hendriks
Canadian Baseball Network
Minor league veteran turned best-selling author, Dirk Hayhurst once wrote that as long as you have a jersey on your back you have a chance.
 
In Rob Zastryzny’s case, fewer things could ring as true.
 
Drafted by Chicago’s National League outfit in the second round of 2013’s June amateur draft, the Edmonton-born southpaw has spent parts of the last four seasons pitching in the Cubs minor league system while appearing in a myriad of roles including long relief, setup man and as a starter out of the rotation.
 
Having gone 17-16 with an ERA of 4.60 over 73 appearances since making his professional debut with the class-A Boise Hawks in 2013, the University of Missouri standout has yet to establish any semblance of consistency throughout his minor league career.
 
Like many, injuries have played a role in hampering his development. Having been nicked with a line-drive during his first start last season, the 6-foot-3 hurler missed a sizeable portion of the 2015 campaign and after returning from the disabled list in early July, he found his numbers inflated come season’s end.
 
Perhaps the injury came as a blessing in disguise.
 
Despite posting an ERA two points shy of six on the year, the Cubs front office, aware of the fact that he only recorded 60 2/3 innings of work that season, were intrigued enough by his peripherals to give the 23-year-old a shot in the Arizona Fall League last November.
 
In 26 innings with the Mesa Solar Sox, Zastryzny chalked up 28 punch-outs and walked only six.  Again, his ERA hovered above five but in short season ball, that statistic isn’t always the most telling metric when it comes to judging a players overall performance.
 
Clearly, an impression was made. One that would only begin to pay off a few months later.
 
Back in double-A to start the 2016 campaign, the Canadian hurler continued to produce impressive strikeout to walk totals as a starter with the Tennessee Smokies. By May 24th, he was back in triple-A appearing as a key contributor to the Iowa Cubs five-man rotation.
 
In 11 of his 14 starts with Iowa, Zastryzny held the opposition to three earned runs or less while averaging five innings of work per appearance.
 
Although promising at times, the inconsistent play wasn’t exactly moving him up on any prospect boards, which is why it came as such a surprise when the Cubs purchased his contract on August 19th.
 
Come September, no team is without injuries. Capitalizing on DL stints from John Lackey, Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon, Zastryzny has been given a shot to prove his worth at the major league level.
 
In limited action, he’s done exactly that.
 
Since making his major league debut last month, the 205-pound southpaw has appeared in five games while notching 10 1/3 innings of work, striking out 12 and allowing only one earned run allowed for the 86-47 Cubs.
 
He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium and in his first outing at Wrigley Field on Monday he registered his first major-league victory in an 8-7, 13-inning win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Zastryzny allowed singled to David Freese and Francisco Cervelli, before walking Jody Mercer to load the bases. The lefty struck out Sean Rodriguez on a 3-2 pitch. Josh Harrison lined out to left  scoring Freese with the tie-breaking run. And then Zastryzny struck out Jeff Locke looking to end the threat.

Singles by Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Miguel Montero produced a pair of runs and made Zastryzny the winner.

The lefty contributed another solid two innings Thursday night on MLB Network televised game. Taking over in the fifth with his Cubs trailing the San Francisco Giants 4-3, he pitched two scoreless: six up, six down.

He retired lead-off man Denard Span on a pop up, then Angel Pagán and Buster Posey on ground balls. And in the next inning Zastryzny retired Hunter Pence on a ground ball, Brandon Crawford on a bunt attempt and then fanned Joe Panik looking. 

Although he prefers to start, relieving in the Majors will beat a guaranteed rotation spot in the minor leagues any day.
 
Two weeks ago, the two-time Canadian Baseball Network minor league player of the week was struggling to gain a foothold within the Cubs top prospect list. Now, he’s contributing to a team that checks in with the best record in Major League Baseball.
 
Despite still working on truly establishing himself in the minors,  in early August he still had a jersey on his back.
 
Now, pitching for a World Series contender, he’s making the most of his chance.
 
-Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)