Jason Ross

Sutcliffe's MLB Announcer Statcast page has him in the 99% of words used, while being in the bottom 5% for relevant words used. It's astounding.

To be fair to both, this what the MLB officially lists both as: Bregman - 5"11, 190lbs Shaw - 5"10, 185lbs With that said, if your 9 year old can hit, I say put him at 3b. I'm an equal opportunist. With that said, even if he can't, I'm still more interested in that than watching Vidal Brujan hit, so...batter up.

Exactly on the last point. Jackson Chourio was bad for 3 months, Wyatt Langford for 5. Its really hard right now for rookies. Patience is needed. I hope this is a quick confidence/work on a smaller thing turn around, but I'm a fan of productive struggle when you can afford it, and offensively the Cubs can *probably* afford it currently, so I'd probably have kept him up.

Yeah, I agree. The 18 games feels unfair. Two of those games came on another continent and without a good chunk of ST, and of the other 16 games, he saw Arizona, LAD, SD (4 games), Texas and both of the As best starters. The home games he had were brutally cold as well. He does look defeated and bewildered at the plate right now but Id let him fight through it, myself.

Just looking at the data, he looks like someone who doesn't know when to swing right now. He's watching inside pitches ahead of the count too often, almost like he wants to take a walk. Passive. He's usually fairly aggressive. MLB comes at you fast.

Yeah, the Shaw thing feels unfair, though I do wonder if this is a quick "up and down" to restore confidence. Hes been rough and hes in his head at this stage. The Cubs face a lot of good arms and teams between now and May 12th. Perhaps he goes to Iowa, smacks it around for a few weeks and then comes back when the opponents get lighter.

I'm super rooting for Mervis myself because his story is pretty cool. Covid-year-undrafted two way player who rockets through the system one year, struggles and then finds his footing is not the normal route. With that said, this has a lot of hallmarks of when Nelson Velazquez showed up, hit a bunch for a hot minute, and then fell into irrelevancy. The hope is that the K rate and the contact rate will increase as he settles in and while the HR's wont stack up on the current bonanza rate, that he'll even out. But that might not happen, and if it doesn't, then it's probably a Nelson Velazquez type ending for him.

Already an interesting list. Seeing players like Hernandez, Mathis and Sanders (who Lance had as a guy to watch on live TV) means that the top-20 will be an interesting list.

Yeah, he's had some interesting developments. At age 31, he fits into the same category as Keegan in that I have a hard time deciding if his outcomes in Iowa are due to age/experience or due to development. He's throwing more strikes than he has in the past and the Stuff+ numbers seem to notice a jump. I'm willing to chalk some things up just to being around Zombro, though.

I kind of went the lefty route to ease off of Thielbar a bit. I think there's a good chance he's a decent option, but right now, I'm not sure you can trust him in a spot. His control hasn't been great on the curve, but the Stuff+ and xERA suggest he'll be alright. All of the lefties could be a shorter-term fix as well...maybe two weeks. Let Wicks get one or two more outings in Iowa under his belt that look more like Sunday and less like his first one, and then let him come up to be length (I think Keller can take that for now). It would allow you to ease Thielbar back into being the only lefty one-inning guy when Wicks came up. Just kind of trying to think of ways to keep Caleb around, but lessen the load until he gets his sea legs back.

I'm as annoyed with Pearson as anyone but I don't think he needs a DFA spot right now. He's been bad, but I also don't think it's unfixable. Stuff+ still likes him a lot, meaning he's not declining. His location, specifically on the slider, is horrible right now. There's something jacked up mechanically. He was quite good in 26 innings with the Cubs last year. He has options. I'd send him to Iowa and give him a little time to figure that out. If the slider can be located down and glove side (like it had been) instead of up and in the middle of the plate...he's probably fine. No promise he can, but I think it's possible.

I think we have to pause a bit on the prospect stuff there. Palencia, Little and Neeley have yet to establish themselves, which is a fair criticism! But rookies do that. Palencia is the oldest of all of them and he's 25. It's fair to be skeptical of them, but if this isn't the time to see, then I don't know when it is. I do think it's kind of a time to see Palencia sink or swim a bit more. He's cruising through Iowa this year. I'm not opposed to signing Robertson, but a few caveats: 1. He's sitting at home for a reason. I won't claim to know what that reason is - but there's one. It could be a Robertson personal one, it could be teams are wary...whatever. But good players don't sit at home for nothing. 2. Even if the Cubs do sign him, it's going to take him probably a while to ramp up. He's been in no camp, he's not been throwing in games...he's a veteran and if he wants to play is likely not doing nothing, but it's probably a few weeks to get him going. You'd probably have to experiment with the names above regardless. I'm not sure if any of the names listed here will make themselves mainstays in the bullpen, but I wouldn't mind seeing any of them (for various reasons).

The Cubs bullpen blew another game Monday night. It wasn't all their fault this time, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it, and it probably doesn't make you feel better. On top of that, Eli Morgan appears to be hurt. Can the team stabilize the bullpen by looking to Iowa? Image courtesy of © David Frerker-Imagn Images The 2025 season has been pretty fun, so far. The Cubs are playing some of the best baseball we've seen the team play since the pre-pandemic world. This has resulted in a winning record against some of the best teams in baseball halfway through April. However, the fact that they're enjoyable doesn't mean everything has been perfect. The offense has been great, and the starting pitching has been pretty good (most days). Unfortunately, at times, the bullpen feels like it exists for the sole purpose of ruining the first six innings. Not every performance from the relievers has been bad, but overall, it's been the Cubs' biggest weakness to date. We can "woulda-coulda-shoulda" all we want, but no time machine exists to offer more money to Tanner Scott—and the Cubs offered him more than the Dodgers did, anyway, so who knows if it would have helped? Instead, looking internally for fixes, ways to shuffle things around, and solutions is the best we can do. Enter: Iowa. The Chicago Cubs have one of the deepest pools of prospects at their Triple-A level. While many of these prospects are of the offensive variety (Kevin Alcantara, Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, James Triantos) and are of no help in this regard, there are plenty of pitchers who are either ready to go now or should be soon. While I'm not sure every issue the Cubs currently have can be simply solved by waving a magical "I-Cub" wand, there are enough arms within reach to at least block much of the leakage. Step 1: Nate Pearson has to go work on some things. Replace him with like-for-like. It's easy to want to drink the Nate Pearson Kool-Aid. The reliever stands 6-foot-6, throws 100 mph and looks every bit of a dominating presence on the mound. In the short time after the Cubs picked him up last year, you could see what they were hoping he would turn into full-time in 2025; a power arm capable of throwing multiple innings and helping to shorten games. In his first 26 innings in Chicago, Pearson posted an encouraging 2.73 ERA, with an underlying 3.65 xFIP to make you think it wasn't entirely smoke and mirrors. This year's version of Pearson has not looked like that pitcher. Instead, his strikeout rate has plummeted to just 10.6%. It's not a Stuff+ issue—his Stuff+ still sits at 107 for the year—but a command issue. Pearson just cannot throw strikes, and when he does, they're bad strikes. Compare, below, his 2025 pitch locations (top) to his 2024 locations (bottom). His fastball is center-cut and his slider is hanging. He just doesn't have it right now. The good news for the Cubs is that he is optionable. Send him to Iowa for a bit and figure out why he cannot bury the slider, It might not be a massive fix, but the Cubs cannot keep letting him go out and struggle. The next bit of good news for the Cubs is that they have a ready-made replacement for Pearson; Daniel Palencia. Palencia is a similar version of "stuff-over-location" to what Pearson is, but Palencia is dominating for Iowa. Rocking an absurd 40% strikeout rate, a sub-12% walk rate, he looks absolutely on point. His Statcast page from Iowa, is gaudy. Even if you're not entirely convinced Palencia is going to be capable of maintaining this level of strike-throwing at the big-league level, he's a version of Pearson who currently looks "right". Swap the two and let the struggler go work on his mechanics, while the other can ride a wave of confidence into the Craig Counsell circle of trust. Step 2: Eli Morgan to the IL. Bring up a second left-handed option. Should it be Luke Little, Riley Martin, or Tom Cosgrove? Eli Morgan blew up again last night, surrendering multiple home runs. This is a major red flag for someone like Morgan, whose calling card is that he limits hard damage. Counsell seemed to confirm those fears postgame, suggesting that Morgan has been dealing with some elbow soreness and that one roster move would need to be made. I suspect that move will be a swap of Morgan for the previously mentioned Palencia, but because I've gone ahead and already made that move, I'd suggest the Cubs go with a second one, and bring up a second left-handed option. The Cubs' only current southpaw reliever is Caleb Thielbar. The 38-year-old is coming off a rough 2024, and so far, his results have not been strong. Sporting an ERA over 7.00 and walking one out of every five hitters faced, it's clear that there are some struggles. For the lefty, there are also some encouraging signs; Stuff+ has him sitting at 111 for the year, his xERA is 3.05, and he's done a good job of avoiding the "heart" of the plate (especially with the fastball) while hitting the "shadow" (the outer portions) of the zone. With that said, it's time to give Counsell a second lefty for those moments. Luke Little is probably the easiest pitcher to add. Already on the 40-man and with some MLB experience under his belt, he wouldn't require much roster movement if Morgan only requires a 15-day stint. Little had three great appearances to start the year, but struggled in his most recent inning, surrendering a home run, two total earned runs, walking two and striking out none. These things happen, but you wish it didn't happen just a few days ago. Regardless, this is likely where I would go. The Cubs could go with three other choices, though none are perfect. Tom Cosgrove, recently snagged by way of San Diego, is a left-handed option who could slot in as the "left-handed Eli Morgan". When he's right, Cosgrove uses a funky arm angle to limit hard-hit balls. Sadly for the Cubs, Cosgrove hasn't been right since 2023, and hasn't looked great in even at Triple A. Riley Martin is another left-handed option at Iowa. Martin has all the right stuff, a big looping curveball, a fastball that's just good enough, and a pretty impressive ability to consistently get strikeouts at any level. The issue here is twofold: the walks are worse than Little while the overall stuff is less, and he's not on the 40-man. I still think Martin will get a cup of coffee in Chicago sometime this year. I just wouldn't do it now. A final choice could be Jordan Wicks. Wicks is different than the previous three options, in that his strength is that he can provide length. While the Cubs would probably like to keep him stretched out in Iowa in case of another starter injury, he could slot into the Colin Rea role that was recently vacated: bullpen length arm. As a lefty, he could realistically come in and get an inning if you wanted, but he could also be used to piggyback with Rea. While this is an interesting option, Wicks's calling card is his changeup, and relievers tend not to focus on a fastball-changeup combo on short stints. Plus, I like having a ready-to-go starter if you need them in Iowa, and with Javier Assad still working his way back, Wicks is that primary option. In the end, I don't think Palencia and Little (or another lefty) fix everything, but if both could provide some stability and give the team options, they could start to get out of this bullpen funk. Closer Ryan Pressly looked strong in his last outing, Porter Hodge is great, Brad Keller is showing that he's useful, while both Julian Merryweather and Ethan Roberts are quickly becoming trustworthy. Tyson Miller is close to a return to the roster. Rounding the bullpen out with two more decent options could begin to fill in the cracks and stop the leaking in the 6th and 7th innings, allowing the Cubs to bridge from their solid starters' efforts to their 8th and 9th inning guys. Which players in Iowa do you think could help the Cubs bullpen? Would you look to promote Cade Horton? How about Jordan Wicks? Is there another arm you like? Let us know in the comments below View full article

The walk rates aren't horrible and remember, it's under 5 innings. And he's getting tons of chase and whiff in zone. But the fastball velo below that of what it was last year is making me wonder if he's just capable right now of being too good for Triple-A hitters. If that was Jack Neeley's statcast data, I'd scream to call him up. But Thompson who has plenty of MLB experience? It makes me question it more. A lot of this is SSS. It's why that FB velo might be the most important thing on the list.

The fastball velo still hasn't come back, so I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this - there's really just a good chance that what I'm about to post is due to Thompson's age and multi-time-repeater status of being in Triple-A. But... Here is his statcast data from Triple-A last year: I'm not entirely sure that I would trust him, but the breaking pitch is grading out (in SSS extreme) better and the command in the zone seems to be better. He could be an option, but the more I think about it, the more I do think it's an age thing more so than improvement.

Sounds like Taillon was under the weather last night and why he was pulled when he was.

Ah yeah, we do. Good call! Ignore my inability to count- I'd still give preference to Little. Little's more of a walk machine (though Hughes hasn't been great) but I think offers the greatest difference to Thielbar. Hughes is a bit more like-for-like there, and he's got walk issues of his own. That said, outside of his first inning, has been pretty solid.

Hughes isn't on the 40-man, so my guess would be Palencia and Little unless Morgan needs a 60-man IL slot.

Usually I'm pretty forgiving but I am 100% done with Nate Pearson. Hes been awful.

Justin Turner had a 117 wRC+ last year, and a 116 wRC+ against RHP. Entering tonight, while the statline isn't great, he's under performing his xData, and his xwOBA is .326. That suggests hes hitting it much better than the results are. As well, he helps break up Tucker/Busch to protect from a LHP later. It's a justified position.

So, not really. I'm on mobile, so forgive me, I'm unable to back it up with heat maps (you'll have to check FG to verify), but hes hitting the outside pitch. In fact, it's his best average spot. I recently wrote an article on this, and double checked...still the same. My best feeling is that hes just not seeing it well right now. He's missing because he's all upstairs. He's guessing pitches and the instincts aren't taking over. He's processing slowly right now. It's rookie horsefeathers, and its probably a speed bump hes going to have to get through. On top of a jump from Triple-A to MLB, its been a jump to Cease, Yamamoto (x2), Gallen, Severino...like these are good arms. I also just checked his called strike heatmap when hes *ahead* in the count. It's inside pitches. He should be hitting those, and that's where he's watching. That tells me it's someone who isn't confident right now. Pribably why he's walking so much - he's just too slow mentally right now. It feels liKe Michael Busch early last year. He just felt a moment behind everything for a while. I think its patience that will carry the day.

Same lineup as last night, except for Amaya in for Kelly. No Suzuki yet.

Yeah the contact rates on both aren't super sparkling, though I'm kind of chalking those up to kind of SSS stuff as it usually takes more than ~a week of PAs to get to a stabilized version of the numbers. There are different opinions on when it stabilizes, but ~100 PA's is usually around the number that people point to. Both are well shy of that, so I'm hoping that the K-rate is the closer-to-truth-number (while recognizing it can be the other way around, but I like to live a glass-half-full-life, so I'm going with the fun one)