Only The Cubs Can Keep The Cubs Out Of The Postseason

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Anticipation for the start of the regular season for Chicago's North Side baseball team is almost over. The Cubs may be prepping their plane for Tokyo, but the expectations for this year's squad are way above cruising altitude. 

Image courtesy of Michael Reaves/Getty Images

You can pick any number of reasons as to why hope for Craig Counsell's 2025 ball club is soaring: they've got tremendous pitching depth, a balanced lineup, and most importantly (for now), they're healthy. What strikes me more this year than in previous campaigns is the eyebrow-raising maturity of some of the team's youngest players like Matt Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong. I'm not saying they'll be the biggest Chicago-based thing to hit Japan since Bill Murray, but they'll be a major reason for the club's success, if that is in fact what this Cubs baseball team has on the horizon.

Holding true to any marathon-length season, even the best squads must dig their heels in and navigate some heartburn-inducing adversity. For the Cubbies, that probably won't originate from any spot in their deep batting order, but from their pitching staff. With a projected starting rotation featuring the likes of Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon, the North Siders should tote enough experience and control on the mound to keep things close. One must wonder, however, how a history of injuries could shake up this otherwise solid core group.

Though he missed significant time in 2024, Steele was a similar version of what he delivered in his 2023 All-Star campaign. He still struck out a boat load of opposing batters at 135, though he did pitch almost 40 fewer innings. Given both that he is one of the more youthful pitchers in the rotation and a lefty, his health is imperative.

A relatively human second half of the season kept Shota Imanaga from staying in contention for the 2024 NL Cy Young Award. After watching him get lit up in a couple outings this spring, how likely is it that the beloved Cubs hurler takes a step back in 2025? Probably not very, but it's wishful thinking to assume he will be as unhittable as he's appeared at times. Factor in Matthew Boyd and a still unproven (and currently injured) Javier Assad, and it's not far-fetched to think that the Cubs will have to out slug some opponents. As this club's starting rotation goes, so goes this club. 

Chicago's proficiency in plate discipline looms large for the North Siders' loftier aspirations. Anchors such as Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and newly-anointed designated hitter Seiya Suzuki must continue to play the role of aggressor at the right time. Suzuki is especially known for swinging early in counts, but cashing in on his hard contact will not only help push across key runs, but raise the pressure on opposing pitching when the team's new big bad bopper Kyle Tucker steps to the dish. 

The chances you'll get to dish out some serious trash talk to your fellow NL Central rival friends this year are honestly pretty good. Under the harsh microscope of a pending contract extension, Jed Hoyer pieced together a playoff-worthy major league ball club. That doesn't mean they will be, but it's hard to hate being the industry favorites in the division for the first time in a half-decade.

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