The skinnyChris Rusin, a left-handed pitcher for UK baseball from 2006-09, is a fast-rising prospect in the Chicago Cubs’ system and currently plays for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.UK backgroundRusin came to UK from Canton, Mich., where he led Divine Child High School to back-to-back state championships. As a freshman in 2006, he contributed to UK’s SEC Championship team as a mid-week starter and eventually out of the bullpen. In 16 appearances and 38 innings pitched, he posted a perfect 5-0 record and an ERA of 4.03. As a sophomore, he became UK’s top weekend starter, winning five games and striking out 76 batters in 14 starts. In 2008, he had his breakout season, becoming the first UK pitcher since Scott Downs (the subject of our last “Kentucky in the pros” post) to earn first team All-SEC honors. In 13 starts, he had an ERA of 3.33, 6-3 record and nine quality starts. His 2008 season was enough to convince the Oakland A’s to select him in the 23rd round of the 2008 MLB Draft, but Rusin chose to return to Lexington for his senior season. In 2009, his ERA climbed a bit to 4.20, but he still had a record of 7-4 and struck out 108 batters in just 94.1 innings and is one of just 10 players in school history to record 100 or more strikeouts in a season. Returning to school ended up paying dividends when the Cubs selected the southpaw in the fourth round of the 2009 draft.Professional updateRusin reported to the Cubs right away and pitched in Rookie and Single-A leagues in 2009. He posted solid numbers in his first professional season and was assigned to High-A to begin 2010. He appeared in 20 games for the Daytona Cubs and had an ERA of 3.36 and a dazzling WHIP of 1.03. His strong performance led to a late-season promotion to Double-A Tennessee, where he made four excellent starts en route to a 2-1 record and an ERA of 1.89. In 2011, he returned to Tennessee and made 15 starts before earning a call-up to Triple-A. Since debuting with Iowa on July 7, he has pitched at least four innings and allowed two runs or fewer in all but two appearances and has an ERA of 3.47. On August 8, he turned in his best outing of the season against the Sacramento River Cats. Over seven shutout innings, he allowed six hits and no walks while striking out 11 batters. Making his performance in Triple-A that much more impressive is the fact that he is pitching in a league (the Pacific Coast League) well-known for being favorable to hitters. With injuries and ineffectiveness plaguing the Cubs’ major league pitching staff, Rusin figures to be a candidate for a September call-up when rosters expand.What they’re saying about RusinCubs prospect Rusin in command at Iowa (Kevin Czerwinski, CSN Chicago) Rusin’s UK bio Rusin’s professional statistics