After Friday’s day game at Wrigley Field, Justin Steele invited his teammates over for a crawfish stew, sharing a tradition that goes back to his Mississippi roots. Steele signed off on the idea with Cubs manager David Ross and partnered with the Wrigleyville Crawfish Company, a catering service set up on the security course while team officials and guests interacted on the outfield lawn. bottom. Eating good food, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family are all important to Steele. Because his experience shows that small moments can add up to big things.

Thus, Steele was selected by Agricola (a town with a total population of 346 according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data) as a National League All-Star with the No. 139 pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. It certainly wasn’t pre-determined. Packing hay and fishing in the ponds around his grandparents’ house, Steele didn’t grow up to be a showcase superstar.

The first two players in Steele’s draft class were high school pitchers who never made it to the majors. Steele needed time to grow physically, recover from Tommy John surgery, and establish his identity as a left-handed pitcher. By being authentic, paying attention, and learning from others, Steele gradually transformed himself into the foundational player the Cubs will continue to build on.

“They gave me a chance,” Steele said. “They’ve been patient with me. They’ve given me every opportunity I need, and I’m finally starting to find something.”

Steele appreciates the journey and believes this is exactly where he belongs. While in high school, his family received a medal his great-grandfather earned while serving in the Korean War. The package contained a photograph of John Wesley Steele, a left-handed pitcher for the military team, in a baseball uniform before he was killed in action.

Steele’s father, Ben, was scouted by Bear Bryant to play college football at the University of Alabama, which explains some of his innate athleticism. Steele’s mother, Nikki Steele-Clark, has a human resources background and a long career at Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery on the Gulf Coast.

Steele’s high school, the George County ground, is named after Claude Passot, a five-time Cubs All-Star and first-hitter in the 1945 World Series. To this day, Steele maintains contact with Passo’s descendants in Lucydale.

That year, the Cubs agreed to an undersized contract with first-round pick Kyle Schwarber, giving Steele a $1 million signing bonus and Dylan Seeds’ college trip to Vanderbilt for $1.5 million. was made.

John Lester, the big left-hander who changed expectations at Wrigley Field, watched Steele’s pitch from afar and made suggestions through his former catcher, Ross. Steele closely observes Kyle Hendricks, further boosting his confidence when his professor tells him to trust his own.

Steele’s agent, Sam Samardzija, is the brother of the last homegrown pitcher to be an All-Star with the Cubs (although Jeff was traded before the 2014 tournament).

“The growth trajectory is not necessarily a straight line,” said Sam Samarjiya. “This is a credit to the Cubs scouting staff, who came from a small community and looked after a boy with ample maturity and professionalism. Bright lights and big cities were never a negative for Justin. What you’re seeing, and what the Cubs have identified, is how this young pitcher was raised in an environment where family comes first and responsibility comes first.”

Steele improved his speed significantly during his sophomore year of high school. After being out of action for several weeks with his hip injury, when he returned from rehab he hit the ball with a looser feel and was more explosive. With that initial leap from the low 80s to 89-90 mph, Steele began to attract attention and, feeling a sense of loyalty to the schools that offered him the first offer and showed the most interest, he decided to move to a larger college. I decided to go to Southern Mississippi soon after the program. By his senior year, Steele had taken his speed even higher, reaching another level, but still in his own way. George County head coach Brandon Davis recalled a moment from that season that would resonate in Chicago.

“He played a perfect game through the seventh inning and our second baseman hit a regular ground ball,” Davis said. “(Steel) just turned around and looked at him and said, ‘Don’t worry, dude. Next pitch. Next pitch was a ground ball to second base and he played. I hit him on the butt first over there.’ It was Steele, that’s why he’s successful, he understands that, and he’s always been.”

Steele is quick to admit that there was a lot of trial and error in the process, too, but it definitely helps if players don’t act like they already know everything. Ron Vilone, who overlapped with Steele as minor league rehab coordinator and double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa pitching coach, said Steele was “running around” other players during conditioning training at the Arizona Complex. I remembered.

Steele was the type of prospect who never questioned things. He just wanted to know what he needed to do next.

“I don’t think I had a single hair on my face in Double-A in ’19,” said Birone, who has a 15-year career as a left-handed pitcher in the majors. “Some players are late bloomers. I don’t think Justin ever asked that question. I think it was around the strike zone as he got older and stronger. Players get stronger and want to throw harder. He’s not about throwing hard. It’s about ordering what you get. Yours is good enough if you order yourself what you get. He has an incredibly slow move because hitters are like, ‘I got it, I got it’. And “I am not.”

In 2016 Class A, Steele was introduced as a pitcher with a four-seam fastball and a curveball, experimenting with sinkers and changeups. By the time the Cubs added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season, the organization saw his ceiling as a dependable left-handed reliever from the bullpen at Wrigley Field.

The 2020 season changed the trajectory of Steele’s career. Although he didn’t have a minor league season, the South Bend alternate practice field became a place where he could focus on his craft during the COVID-19 pandemic. He absorbed the message that he needed to sharpen his fastball control. The Cubs also suggested incorporating sliders into their repertoire.

Giving spin to the ball was natural for Steele, who remembered the slider his brother threw. (Jordan Steele played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.) Living in apartments across the stadium’s outfield wall, the local players and staff live in a competitive environment about 150 miles east of Wrigleyville. tried to build.

“Justin used that period to basically be a sponge and do whatever he could to improve himself because he knew where he wanted to be,” Samardziya said. “Again, it comes back to who Justin is. Instead of kicking and screaming and pushing back about it, he accepted the challenge and made those changes and improvements. I did.”

The Cubs called up Steele from South Bend in early August and late September, but he didn’t get the chance to make his major league debut during the 2020 season.

“Nobody wants to be Moonlight Graham,” Samajya said. “But at the same time, there was also another motivation that he wanted to be a man they could trust.”

Steele found he could learn even faster while practicing in the major league bullpen in 2021. That led to the Cubs starting nine games after dropping their star player at the trade deadline. In the middle of last year’s breakthrough season, Steele and his fiancé Libby welcomed a son named Bo.

“Playing for something other than yourself gives you a lot of perspective,” Steele said. “Especially when you have kids, you know you have a responsible human being who has to take care of them and feed them. It will definitely put you on another drive. It definitely will.” That’s what happened, it definitely put me in another gear.”

The Cubs-signed teenager will celebrate his 28th birthday at the All-Star Game in Seattle on Tuesday. July 11th is also Beau’s birthday. Davis, Steele’s high school coach, will officiate at his wedding to Libby this offseason.

After experimenting with different pitches, the prospect now throws four-seam fastballs and sliders about 96 percent of the time. It’s the angles and deceptions he creates that allow him to take such a rational approach. I can’t believe it’s only two balls in the batter’s box. There are variations that disrupt the hitter’s timing and lead to weaker contact.

Steele will join the arbitration system next year and start new and interesting discussions about his future. Since the start of the 2022 season, he has started 40 games, pitched more than 210 innings and posted a 2.91 ERA.

Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said, “I don’t like to give Lester too much credit, but he talked[with Steele]about installing an inside heater.” “The ball cuts. There’s movement. It does some interesting things. His ability to fill in the strike zone and pitch was really impressive.”

Steele’s recent sighting of boiling crayfish was picturesque, with the Cubs gathering for Father’s Day weekend and the beginning of Chicago’s summer in the late afternoon and early evening. The team claims to be better than a 42-47 record and is striving for something special. If Steel is an ace, the idea becomes more realistic.

For a player who doesn’t make a lot of noise in the clubhouse, the picnic was a way to get together with his teammates and give a glimpse of his career. For prospects drafted at the end of the last rebuild, starting a playoff game at Wrigley Field would mean everything.

“They believed in me,” Steele said. “They didn’t trade me. Different situations happen, but they stuck with me.”

(Top photo: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)