Brandon Glick

After a hot start to the season in April, the Cubs struggled badly this month as they dealt with injuries and underperformances up and down the roster. Nevertheless, a few hitters held their own and deserve to be praised for holding down the fort while the team collapsed around them. It was a ROUGH month for the Cubs hitters in May - not one single player on the team posted an OPS above .800 (Cody Bellinger reached exactly that mark). Christopher Morel led the team in home runs with six, though he supplied an ugly .183/.319/.387 slash line in 93 at-bats. The Cubs had more batters post an OPS below .600 (eight) than players with an OPS above .700 (six) last month. So… yeah. We’re not exactly picking from the hottest bunch in the world. Yet, the show must go on, and at least a couple of hitters provided a glimmer of hope in the barren offensive wasteland that is the 2024 Chicago Cubs. These are North Side Baseball’s top Cubs hitters from the month of May. Honorable Mentions 3B/1B Patrick Wisdom: 43 ABs, .233/.306/.442, 114 OPS+, 2 HR, 6 RBI In case you didn’t believe me when I said it was a slow month for the bats, may I present Patrick Wisdom as one of the Cubs’ five best hitters last month. That’s not to take anything away from the lefty-crushing corner infielder, but given his relatively small sample size and limited contributions besides his home run power, Wisdom’s placement on this list is more of an indictment of the roster than praise for the 32-year-old. Nevertheless, the Cubs need him to continue producing while playing the weak-side of the first and third base platoon, lest they have another black hole in their lineup. 1B Michael Busch: 72 ABs, .208/.337/.375, 106 OPS+, 2 HR, 6 RBI Last month’s hitter of the month, Busch was solid when called upon in May. His power took a nosedive compared to April, though even that month’s surge was fueled by a ridiculous five-homers-in-five-games stretch. Notably, Busch’s OPS is 215 points higher in wins than losses - when he plays well, the Cubs tend to follow. April's Top 3 Cubs Hitters of the Month #3 2B Nico Hoerner: 84 ABs, .250/.351/.393, 116 OPS+, 2 HR, 8 RBI Nico Hoerner going down with injury at the same time as Dansby Swanson is where I trace the Cubs’ profound offensive struggles back to, but ever since returning from left hamstring tightness, he’s been the same excellent second baseman Cubs fans know and love. Hoerner is back to stealing bases (five in five attempts last month) and hitting for a bit of power. His defense has been sterling yet again. On a team full of struggling players, Hoerner’s consistency has shone through like a ray of light in the darkness. A fun fact for those who enjoy lineup composition debates: when leading off a game for the Cubs, Hoerner is slashing .385/.407/.654 in 27 plate appearances. #2 OF Ian Happ: 91 ABs, .231/.317/.462, 122 OPS+, 5 HR, 12 RBI Happ started out frigid this season, posting a .647 OPS in March/April and struggling even worse in the first 10 or so days of May. Starting on May 16, though, Happ has been on one of his patented heaters. All of his home runs this month came after that cutoff date, and he got on base at least once in all but three of the games he’s started since then. In pure Happian fashion, most of that damage came against the Reds and Pirates, but the opponent doesn’t matter when a team is struggling this badly across the board. If this award were just focused on the past two weeks, Happ would have won this competition running away - he’s lifted his season OPS by more than 50 points in that span. #1 OF Cody Bellinger: 93 ABs, .290/.327/.473, 128 OPS+, 3 HR, 9 RBI Despite going on the IL with broken ribs late last month, Bellinger returned looking as healthy and spry as ever. Strong defense, a consistent plate approach, and being a genuine threat in the lineup has made Bellinger by far the team’s most important hitter heading into June. If he can supply a little more over-the-wall pop as the weather heats up, Bellinger will have a chance to match last season’s impressive 134 wRC+ (he’s up to 118 as of June 1). Interestingly, Bellinger has been much better away from Wrigley Field this season: his batting average (.286 on the road, .228 at home), OPS (.814 to .738), and OPS+ (136 to 106) are far better in opposing team’s ballparks this season. Not the most exciting statistics for Cubs hitters in May, but what do you think of this ranking? Are these the correct choices? View full article

At long last, May is over. And yet, the Cubs’ problems still persist, as Cade Horton is out with a lat injury. At least Ian Happ is swinging a hot stick at the plate. Image courtesy of © Melissa Tamez-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs went 10-18 last month. I’m not sure about you, but watching the Cubs go from a war for first place in the NL Central to fighting to stay around .500 has not been fun. The pitching, particularly from the young arms in the rotation, has remained excellent this season, but the bats reached another level of ice cold in May. We trudge forward nonetheless, but the season is slipping away before our eyes. As usual, we’ll focus exclusively on baseball in this edition of MMNS. Let’s dive right into things. Let’s get it out of the way up top: thank goodness May is over. Things got BRUTAL down the stretch of last month, and the Cubs immediately responded to the calendar flipping by putting up seven runs against the Reds on Saturday. The schedule is starting to ease up on them (White Sox to start the week!), so hopefully, the offense can continue to climb out of the abyss they’ve dug for themselves. The lineup will do that by getting superstar-level contributions from its best players. Ian Happ isn’t always thought of that way, but he’s performed like it the last few weeks. Over the last two weeks, Happ lifted his season OPS from .674 to .702. His power has awoken now that he’s playing some division rivals (namely the Reds), and he’s inarguably the hottest hitter on the team. Hopefully, guys like Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson (who hit home runs in the Cubs’ win on Saturday) can return to form and offer much-needed support for Happ, Cody Bellinger, and Christopher Morel. On the flip side of Happ, Nick Madrigal has drawn the ire of nearly every Cubs fan who’s paid attention this year. The team finally capitulated to the raucous call of the Wrigley faithful by sending him to Triple-A Iowa, recalling old friend David Bote to take his place on the roster. Madrigal’s time in Chicago may be up at this point. His StatCast chart is plain ugly. He’s always had one blue-chip tool - his contact rate - and his defense has been solid the last couple of years, but he hasn’t improved much in his time with the Cubs. Some tough news: Cade Horton, the Cubs top prospect now that Pete Crow-Armstrong has graduated, is out with a lat injury. He was placed on the seven-day injured list this weekend. Some fans may remember when Adbert Alzolay went down with the same injury in 2018 (when he was one of the Cubs’ best pitching prospects) and missed the rest of the season. That’s a worst-case scenario outcome, but with how little is known about Horton’s injury, caution is the only approach worth taking. The Cubs’ rotation has been the most consistent piece of the team all season long, so Horton’s absence won’t be season-ending for the major league team by any stretch. Still, Horton is knocking on the door of The Show, and it’s tough for an injury to interrupt his development at Triple-A Iowa. Ben Brown played Jekyll and Hyde this week, throwing seven no-hit innings against the Brewers before getting lit up by the Reds on Sunday for five runs in five innings. Bumps in the road are expected for the young starting pitcher, and the fact that his strikeout numbers continue to impress (ten against the Brewers, six against the Reds) is a good sign. He’s earned himself a long leash in the rotation, and Brown’s emergence is a godsend in the wake of the Horton news. And last but certainly not least, everyone’s favorite umpire, Angel Hernandez, has officially “retired.” Hernandez didn’t exactly leave the game on his own terms, as he reached a financial settlement with Major League Baseball and the umpires union that led to his exit. In other words, the league was so desperate to get rid of Hernandez that they are paying him not to umpire games. There isn’t a single fan, player, or coach that will miss the most notorious official in the game. Hernandez’s biggest flaw wasn’t that he was a terrible umpire (which he was) but that he wanted the game to be about him. He thrashed the integrity of baseball with his fragile ego, constantly trying to thrust himself into the center of the action. His short fuse will live on in infamy, but his desire to be the star of the show earned him his ignoble distinction of “Worst Umpire in Baseball.” Everyone has their favorite reaction to one of Hernandez’s patented blown calls, though the one that lives rent-free in my head is the incorrect third-strike call to Kyle Schwarber in an April 2022 game against the Brewers. You can even see Josh Hader smirking as he turns to the infield, knowing that the pitch was well off the plate (and, I’m sure, he was enjoying Schwarber’s reaction like the rest of us). That’ll wrap it up for this week, folks. The floundering North Siders are off tonight, and then they’ll host the historically bad Chicago White Sox for a two-game, crosstown series. They also get the Reds again after that, heading to Cincinnati for a weekend set. In no uncertain terms, the Cubs have to go 4-2 or better this week against that pair of last-place teams. The May swoon is over, and June has to bring better fortunes if the team is going to compete past the All-Star break this year. Have a good week, everyone! Go, Cubs, Go! View full article

The Cubs' young starting pitchers have been brilliant this season, but Ben Brown has arguably been the best of the bunch. Brandon & Ethan break down how the two-pitch pitcher is succeeding at the MLB level. View full video

It's rare that the baseball world is ever unified. And yet, a certain umpire provided just the spark to send all fans into a raucous celebration. Brandon & Ethan rejoice whilst remembering the career of Angel Hernandez. View full video

The Cubs called up shortstop prospect Luis Vazquez this week. Brandon and Ethan break down what the defense-first infielder brings to the team. View full video

The last few weeks have been a struggle for the Cubs, who are getting healthier but no more productive at the plate. At least some of the youngsters are showing out, a third of the way through the season. Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs won just one game last week, which included an off day on Monday and a rainout on Friday. The Braves proved to be demonstrably better than the Cubs this year in their two series this month, mostly because the Cubs’ offense has been downright offensive (or inoffensive, perhaps? You get the point) in May. However, there is some good news to dive into, and the schedule is about to ease up after a brutal stretch. As per usual, we’ll be focusing exclusively on baseball in this edition of MMNS. Let’s dive right into things. The Cubs’ latest homestand was bad. Like, really, really bad. Chicago went 2-5 in those seven games against the Braves and Pirates, with both of those wins coming on walkoff hits. They did not lead for a single inning in any of the seven games. Now, that may sound really bad on the surface, but it gets - *checks notes* - so much worse when you dive into the numbers. The team, as a whole, put up a .149/.235/.228 slash line and scored 16 total runs in 7 games (2.3 per game). The lineup’s collective 37 wRC+ during that stretch was even more ghastly. Ian Happ led the way with a 114 wRC+, while Miguel Amaya and Michael Busch tied for second with a 76 wRC+ (i.e., the Cubs’ second- and third-best hitters last week were 24% worse than average). At least the Cubs are getting healthy? Is that even a good thing, when everyone is struggling so profoundly? With Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki all back from injury, it feels like the Cubs are deploying their optimal lineup, but the results are enormously suboptimal. Is this just a cold stretch? Or is this a symptom of a team that has a ton of slightly above-average bats (in theory) but no real superstars? These questions will continue to plague the Cubs this season, as long as they fancy themselves contenders. I don’t know if there’s going to be a bat available on the trade market who could be wholly transformative for the lineup, but something needs to give before the season gets away. The reason why the Cubs are still in it, despite the horrendous offensive performance team-wide, is their pitching. Five of the top 25 pitchers in baseball since the start of April (based on ERA) belong to the North Siders right now: Shota Imanaga (#1), Ben Brown (#6), Hayden Wesneski (#9), Javier Assad (#12), and Jameson Taillon (#24). Brown’s placement may surprise those who haven’t been paying especially close attention this season, as he had a tough debut in the first series of the year against the Texas Rangers. Besides that, though, his 1.91 ERA is stellar, and he just held the mighty Braves scoreless over four innings on short rest, allowing just one hit, two walks, and six strikeouts. Who knows whether the Cubs believe in Brown’s potential as a 150+ inning per season starter, or if they think he’ll be best in the bullpen, but there’s no denying how effective he’s been in 2024. He’s sort of been on the pitching prospect periphery, thanks to the emergence of Cade Horton and Jordan Wicks’s stellar work at the end of last year, but a healthy and efficient Ben Brown is easily one of the Cubs’ best five pitchers. There are more positives to discuss around the team - the bullpen may finally be starting to turn it around - but it’s admittedly difficult to look on the bright side when it feels like the Cubs simply won’t ever score again. I will give a shoutout to Ian Happ, though, who hit two home runs against the Cardinals on Sunday Night Baseball and has an impressive .246/.338/.462 slash line (good for a 130 wRC+) since May 3. He’s streaky, but Happ always seems to find a way to be productive over a full season. I hate to end this Memorial Day edition of MMNS on a sour note, but the landscape of baseball changed this weekend when Ronald Acuna Jr., the winner of the 2023 NL MVP Award, went down with a torn ACL. It’s a gut punch to the Braves, but also to MLB at large, as Acuna is one of the most electrifying players in the sport when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, his health looks like it could be the one thing capable of stopping him. That’ll wrap it up for this week, folks. The Cubs are heading to Milwaukee for an all-important four-game series against the Brewers to open the week, before heading home to Wrigley to host the last-place Cincinnati Reds for a weekend jaunt. Believe it or not, if the Cubs sweep the Brewers, they’ll be in first place in the NL Central going into the weekend. That’s a big ask against a Milwaukee team that has handled the attrition of their offseason quite well, but these division games always have a way of going haywire. Hopefully, the Cubs can capitalize on the chaos. Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday! Have a good week, everyone! Go, Cubs, Go View full article

The Cubs' Gold Glove middle infield tandem is healthy again. Brandon and Ethan rejoice, though with plenty of caution. View full video

The one-time top prospect in the Cubs farm system is coming off his hottest stretch in years, but can he stay healthy (and productive) enough to justify time in the big leagues? Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports Before the 2022 season, outfielder Brennen Davis was a consensus top-30 prospect in baseball: Baseball America had him ranked 16th, MLB Pipeline placed him in 15th, and Baseball Prospectus put him all the way down at 27th. At the time, he was coming off a tremendous 2021 season in which he ascended three levels of minor league ball, finishing with a 16-game cup of coffee at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a .933 OPS. Since then, you know the story. Due to a combination of underwhelming performance and mostly injuries, Davis has been stuck in Triple-A over the last couple of seasons, falling off most top prospect lists around the mid-way point of last season. In 2022, the outfielder slashed a paltry .180/.299/.298 across 178 at-bats. 2023 wasn’t any better, as he put up a nearly identical .604 OPS in 293 plate appearances. Coming into this season, expectations for Davis had all but vacated the minds of Cubs’ fans. Despite being just 24 years old, the arrival and emergence of other outfield prospects like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara (and, to a lesser extent, guys like Alexander Canario and the now-departed Nelson Velazquez) has pushed Davis to the backburner. With Seiya Suzuki entrenched in right field for the next three seasons and Ian Happ following suit in left field, only center field has a reasonable opening in the short-term future, assuming Cody Bellinger opts out of his contract or eventually transitions to first base full-time. Having just one outfield spot and possibly one designated hitter spot for all those prospects is untenable, especially when PCA’s otherworldly defense in center makes him a virtual guarantee to take over the position. Of course, baseball can surprise even the most astute observers. Over his last two weeks of playing, Davis has put up the following slash line: .452/.605/1.161/315 wRC+. Thus, according to Weighted Runs Created Plus, Davis has been 215% better than the average Triple-A hitter since early May. It’s hard to quantify what a figure that large means, but suffice to say, Davis is ON FIRE. Our @Seth Stohs interviewed Alex Cohen, the voice of the Iowa Cubs, during the midst of that hot streak, where Cohen claimed that Davis merely needed to continue performing at an above-average clip to catch the front office's attention. Though he’s no longer the five-tool star his older prospect days promised (his average sprint speed nowadays is 26.9 feet per second, a bit below average), his bat is still clearly above average when healthy. Even though this kind of hot streak won’t last forever, Davis is more than capable of being a productive, above-average hitter - something the major league squad desperately needs right now. So then, why isn’t Davis being considered for a major league promotion, at least publicly? Naturally, it’s the injury bug again. Davis has missed the last few games after being pulled in the middle of the Iowa Cubs’ May 22 affair, and it’s unclear when he will return. He’s reportedly day-to-day for now, but anytime an injury is mentioned in conjunction with Davis, it’s hard to feel confident. Since 2022, Davis has missed time with an HBP-induced broken finger, a pair of concussions, hamstring issues, and nagging back injuries that stem from genetic vascular malformation. He already missed time earlier this year with the second concussion after being hit in the head with an errant pitch in Spring Training. Whether by fluke or just good old-fashioned injury proneness, the outfielder can’t seem to stay healthy for any reasonable amount of time. And that’s where this conversation will continue to rest, for now. If he can finally move past the physical toll of playing professional baseball, Davis has a good enough bat to justify serious playing time in the big leagues. If not… well, we already know what will happen. It’s been happening for the last couple of years. Davis’ story isn’t a novel one. Talented players with tremendous raw gifts have been stopped by the breakdown of their bodies since the dawn of professional sports. To be truly special, Davis must overcome his fragility and bad luck and continue to be a star at the dish. View full article

The Professor has become the substitute teacher. Brandon and Ethan discuss what's next for the longest tenured Cub after his demotion to the bullpen. View full video

The Cubs had their first bad week of the season, losing both series against the Braves and Pirates. At least things are going well down on the farm. Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs are really starting to feel the effects of their injuries, losing two of three to the powerful Atlanta Braves before being stumped by the Pittsburgh Pirates three times in a four-game set. The offense is struggling, scoring more than four runs just once all week (in a 7-1 win in the series finale against Atlanta). It's hard to pick out a "big" news story during such a lethargic week, so let's turn our attention to the minor leagues for a bit. Luis Vázquez is getting the call to the majors! The defensive stud is hitting .270/.369/.409, good for a 106 wRC+ at Triple-A Iowa this season. However, it's worth noting the last three weeks have not been kind to the 24-year-old (.143/.273/.232, a 39 wRC+). Most likely, he'll be stepping in as a fill-in for Dansby Swanson or Nico Hoerner, who may be behind in their recovery timelines. Miles Mastrobuoni and Nick Madrigal have filled in adequately for the time being, but they aren't true, everyday players. The Cubs do have a day off Monday, so some corresponding roster move will take place to accommodate this, but it might not be immediate. Regardless of what that transaction ultimately looks like, all the team needs from Vázquez is a more competitive, theoretically dangerous at-bat than Madrigal has given them--which is a low bar to clear. Elsewhere in the minor leagues, Brennen Davis is [NBA Jam voice] ON FIRE. The one-time top prospect in the Cubs' farm system has now become an afterthought, given his injury troubles and the loaded outfield for the parent club, but he still possesses as much raw talent as anyone. On Saturday, he hit two home runs, running his total up to seven in eight games. Who knows what Davis, who is on the 40-man roster, is capable of doing across a full season anymore, if his body can even handle the rigors of it. However, at just 24 years old, there's still plenty of time for him to come up and make a big impact on the big-league team. He was a top-20 prospect in baseball just a couple of years ago, after all. Jake Slaughter was traded for Tyson Miller this week, which is a bittersweet goodbye to one of the longest-tenured players in the farm system. Slaughter, 27, was originally drafted by the Cubs in the 36th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but then headed to college, only to be picked by the Cubs again in the 18th round (in 2018). The utility infielder was batting .297/.392/.487 for the I-Cubs at the time of the trade. Richard Lovelady was also traded this week, to open up a roster spot for Tyson Miller. In return, the Tampa Bay Rays sent back lefty arm Jeff Belge, a 26-year-old reliever who’s never reached Triple-A. It's a low-end return, but Lovelady had already been designated for assignment, and had no significant trade value. Perhaps the Cubs' Pitch Lab can turn Belge into a useful reliever. Cade Horton got his first Triple-A win this week, pitching five innings of three-run ball on Friday. He looks closer and closer to being ready for The Show. Like I said, there isn't much to talk about from the big-league team this week that hasn't been said one million times already this season. The lineup is banged up and can't score runs with any consistency. Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad are the best 1-2 punch atop any rotation in baseball right now, but Kyle Hendricks looks awful, and the rest of the rotation can't stay healthy. And don't even get me started on the bullpen. Hopefully, Adbert Alzolay's Injured List stint helps him fix whatever's been ailing him this season. The Cubs need a surefire reliever in the worst way right now. The Cubs were heavily active on the trade market this week, but those were just moves around the margins. As the trade deadline draws near, Jed Hoyer and company may have to bite the bullet on a blockbuster move if they hope to hang with the Milwaukee Brewers atop the division. That'll wrap it up for this week, folks. The Cubs are off today before facing the fightin' Snitkers again (this time at home, at least) for three games. They'll then head to St. Louis to take on the rival Cardinals for the first time this season. The weekday set will be a difficult one to win, but the Cardinals are currently fourth in the NL Central. A .500 week, at minimum, is needed for the Cubs to right the ship. Have a good week, everyone! Go, Cubs, Go! View full article

A cloud of uncertainty hangs above the Houston Astros’ heads. The team is off to a wildly disappointing start this season, as they currently sit in third place in the AL West behind the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. Many pundits are predicting a firesale for the team if they don’t right the ship soon, and we discussed Jon Heyman connecting the Cubs to Justin Verlander yesterday. Now, speculation has arisen surrounding star third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman, 30, is in the midst of the final year of his contract ($28.5 million salary, $16.6 million AAV against the luxury tax) and having one of the worst years of his pro career. He’s slashing just .223/.284/.349 through 183 plate appearances, which is good for a disappointing 84 OPS+. However, he was far better in 2022 and 2023 (OPS above .800 in both seasons), and he isn’t too far removed from two consecutive top-five finishes in AL MVP voting in 2018 and 2019 (when he had an OPS+ above 155). It is worth noting that Bregman has a history of starting slow, though, and has done by far his best work in August (.996 OPS) throughout his career. Christopher Morel has done a nice job at the hot corner since starting slow defensively, which could make the Cubs hesitant to pay the asking price on Bregman, who hasn’t played a position other than third base since 2019 (65 games at shortstop). Like Verlander, his rental status would drive down the prospect cost to acquire Bregman, though his large salary could make the Cubs’ front office hesitant to pull the trigger. What do you think? Should the Cubs reinforce a lineup that can’t seem to stay healthy in 2024? Should they make that bet on a hitter that’s been ice cold to start the season? View full rumor

MLB Insider Jon Heyman said that the Houston Astros, currently sporting a 20-25 record and third in the AL Central, could begin selling off some of their shorter-term pieces in the coming months if they don’t turn things around quickly. The most notable player he mentioned is starting pitcher Justin Verlander, whom he connected directly to the Cubs. Verlander, 41, has a 3.38 ERA in 29 and ⅓ innings this season. He’s currently in the final year of a two-year, $86 million pact he originally signed with the New York Mets, which could mean the Astros have to eat some money in order to move him (especially to a team that is trying to avoid the luxury tax, like the Cubs). The veteran starter is just two years removed from winning his third AL Cy Young Award in 2022, when he led the junior circuit in wins (18), ERA (1.75), ERA+ (218), WHIP (0.829), and hits allowed per nine innings (6.0). Notably, Verlander’s strikeout rate has plummeted over the last couple of seasons, dropping from 9.5 K/9 in 2022 to just 7.1 K/9 in 2024. Still, he remains a wildly effective starting pitcher who is capable of gobbling up innings. Most Cubs fans will remember the team’s failed pursuit of Verlander in 2017, when the ace pitcher badly wanted to go to Chicago once the Detroit Tigers placed him on (the since defunct) tradeable waivers in August. Instead, the Cubs opted against trading what little talent remained in their farm system, and Verlander was sent to the Astros, whom he won two World Series titles with. The Cubs have been pounded with injuries this season at every position, though their rotation depth has been pushed to the extreme already. All of Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Wicks, Kyle Hendricks, and Drew Smyly have been on the Injured List at some point or another this season, and the Cubs have had to rely heavily on the arms of Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad. Nevertheless, the Cubs rank 12th in the MLB in ERA despite an abysmal performance from the bullpen, and that’s thanks to the terrific work of players like Imanaga, Assad, Ben Brown, and Hayden Wesneski. Trading for a 41-year-old pitcher is way outside of Jed Hoyer’s wheelhouse, though Verlander is only a (expensive) rental. Would he be willing to pay the prospect cost for someone who might stretch the budget and not fill the team’s biggest area of need (the relief corps)? With Cade Horton possibly on the way soon, it’s hard to imagine the Cubs really being in deep on Verlander. View full rumor