09/13 CUBS (Doubront) @ Pittsburgh (Locke) 6:05 CDT, CSN TV

[Guest]

Don't want to read too much between the lines, but Doubront has been effective if not dominant in his 3 starts. He's not striking anyone out, but on the other hand Arrieta followed a similar post-trade pattern last year. Out of all the recently added/promoted options for next year, Doubront has one of the highest ceilings/best pedigrees and has proven the most at the MLB level, so I'm really interested to see what happens with him. His cutter usage compared to his time with Boston is already through the roof, so hopefully it sticks.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Don't want to read too much between the lines, but Doubront has been effective if not dominant in his 3 starts. He's not striking anyone out, but on the other hand Arrieta followed a similar post-trade pattern last year. Out of all the recently added/promoted options for next year, Doubront has one of the highest ceilings/best pedigrees and has proven the most at the MLB level, so I'm really interested to see what happens with him. His cutter usage compared to his time with Boston is already through the roof, so hopefully it sticks.

 

Assuming we acquire a front end starter via FA or trade, and have Arrieta and Hendricks slotted in as a 2 and a 4-5, Doubront and Turner are the question marks that could be the difference between a solid rotation and an all out dominant one. There's also Wada, but I've heard that his option is likely declined, though that's not to say that he's not signed to something more incentive based.