Northeast Guilford’s Mitch Atkins called up to the Chicago Cubs today

Former Northeast Guilford/Greensboro Batting Center-Carolina Acceleration pitcher Mitch Atkins got the call from the Chicago Cubs today and is headed to the Cubs 25-man roster.

He will be working from the bullpen, and we wish Mitch much success as he gets set work in the majors and we remember our interview we did with him just a couple of years back as he worked his way through the system with the Daytona Cubs, the Tennessee Smokies and then the Iowa Cubs.

Again good luck to Mitch as gets ready to pitch for the Cubs. You can follow his exploits at www.mlb.com.

Here is the official news:

CHICAGO — The Cubs added a fresh arm to the bullpen on Wednesday when they recalled pitcher Mitch Atkins from Triple-A Iowa. Jeff Stevens was optioned to the Minor League team to make room on the 25-man roster.

The bullpen has been overworked in the last two days because of a 13-inning game Monday, a short outing by starter Ryan Dempster on Tuesday and no days off until Aug. 6. Stevens had pitched both Monday and Tuesday, and returns to Iowa with a 2.84 ERA in five appearances with the big league team. He did not give up a run this season until Tuesday against Houston.

Atkins got a 5 a.m. CT wakeup call Wednesday, and was told to catch an 8 a.m. flight out of Omaha, Neb., to Chicago. He just grabbed his baseball gear and asked his wife to pack his things.

“I had a little trouble finding the airport,” Atkins said. “I do need some coffee.”

The Cubs’ 2008 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Atkins was 6-10 with a 6.92 ERA in 20 starts for Iowa. He’s been a little inconsistent. On July 19 against Nashville, Atkins gave up three runs on five hits over six innings and struck out five. In his next start July 24 against Albuquerque, he took the loss, serving up five runs on eight hits in three innings.

On June 30 against Round Rock, he took the loss, but gave up one run on three hits over eight innings. How would he assess his season?

“It started out a little rough,” Atkins said. “Lately I’ve been throwing the ball well, and I just have to try to keep that going.”