Monday Morning North Sider: Treading Water, Paul Skenes, Kyle Hendricks, And More

Happy belated Mother’s Day to everyone! The Cubs had a pretty quiet week, all things considered, though they did get Kyle Hendricks back on the bump Sunday after facing the most hyped pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg on Saturday. They remain just 0.5 games back of the Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central, and standing 24-17 on the season places them firmly among the league’s second tier of contenders.

Just as a heads-up, I received good feedback on last week’s Cubs-only format, so we’ll roll with that again this time around. Like I said last week, I’ll continue to synthesize and apply new feedback as I get it. For now, let’s get on with the show.

• There’s no use in burying the lede: On Saturday, May 11, the Cubs faced off against Paul Skenes in his major-league debut. It was as anticipated a debut as any in recent memory. In some ways, Skenes lived up to the hype: he struck out seven in four innings and generated 17 whiffs on 84 pitches. 

• However, the Cubs did a good job working Skenes’s pitch count up, and they knocked him out at the start of the fifth inning. His final line: 4 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, and one home run, courtesy of Nico Hoerner:

• The Cubs ultimately lost that game, thanks yet again to the horrendous state of the bullpen. Outside of Mark Leiter Jr., there is not a single arm in the pen who will make you feel comfortable when they’re on the mound. Maybe Yency Almonte belongs in that group as well, but he was just placed on the IL with a right shoulder strain (José Cuas was called up to take his roster spot initially, but he’s since been replaced by another pitcher returning from injury).

• Speaking of injuries: Will they ever end? Just as Seiya Suzuki gets back from injury, Dansby Swanson landed on the Injured List. Now, Jameson Taillon is dealing with another back strain, which is the same injury that held him out for the first few weeks of the season. Taillon is listed to start Tuesday in Atlanta, but we'll see whether that comes to fruition.

• The Cubs’ rotation has been such a bright spot for the team this year, but it sucks that no one outside of Javier Assad and Shota Imanaga has been able to stay healthy. 

• Justin Steele is back, but he hasn’t looked great since returning from the hamstring injury he suffered on Opening Day. Taillon was sporting a tremendous 1.13 ERA in his first four starts of the season, but again, all seems up in the air with him now.

• At least the “Prospect Trio” - Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski, and Jordan Wicks - have all been excellent when called upon, but they’ve either been relegated to bullpen duty at times or are dealing with injuries.

• Outside of Imanaga and Assad, only one pitcher has made more than five starts for the Cubs this year: Kyle Hendricks. The Professor returned from a back “injury” that was more of a Phantom IL stint and delivered five innings of one-run ball, which was nice to see. However, the Pirates are the worst offense in the entire league against right-handed pitching, slashing .215/.295/.311 (74 wRC+) going into Hendricks’s start on Sunday.

• If the longest-tenured Cub can right the ship from his early season struggles, then it’ll be a boon for a team that just cannot stay healthy this year. However, with so many youngsters either in the big leagues or knocking on the door (looking at you, Cade Horton), Hendricks’s leash will be shorter than it’s ever been before.

• Some quick bites to wrap things up: Christopher Morel proved his knee troubles were a non-issue on Sunday, hitting his team-leading ninth home run of the year in a 5-4 victory:

• Mason Miller of the Oakland Athletics, who is one of the most dominant closers in the game today, is reportedly on the trade block. It would take A LOT to acquire him, but man, do the Cubs need a lockdown arm at the back of their bullpen right now.

• Lastly, and just for fun, let’s reminisce upon Michael Busch’s walk-off homer against the Padres on Tuesday:

That about it wraps it up, folks. The Cubs are heading to Atlanta to take on the mighty Braves for a three-game set early in the week, before coming back home to Chicago to play host to the Pirates (again) for a four-game series. They then have a day off next Monday before facing the Braves again, and then the Cardinals (on the road), so these next two weeks will be a pivotal stretch for the team as they continue to wrestle with the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.

Have a great week, everyone! Go, Cubs, Go!