Caleb ThielbarCHC · RP

2026 review

Caleb Thielbar was a strikeout-heavy lefty reliever who gave some of it back on contact: a 4.86 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 50.0 IP over 58 games for CHC, with a 28.3 K% and an 8.5 BB% over 212 BF, 3 SV against 4 BS and 7 HLD, and his 39.8 Hard% over 133 BBE was the 41st highest of 517 pitchers with 100+ BF. A left hamstring strain put him on the 15-day IL Apr 24, he took a rehab assignment May 16, and he was activated May 19 after missing 25 regular-season days. Taken in just 9 of 674 drafts at ADP rank 774, he finished 649th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank and 276th of 575 relief pitchers. The TDK LABS card tracked his role shifting through the year: early May it flagged him on the hamstring-strain IL on a decimated Cubs shelf, by early Aug it had him as an elite high-leverage setup arm, a day later refining that to elite setup volume but thin save equity in a committee, and by late Sep it had settled him into a middle-relief role, still missing bats but without a clear path to save chances.