Josh Illes

A red-hot start to the week and one of the worst losses in franchise history make this week’s recap a bittersweet. What should be cause for celebration of a team headed in an upward trajectory feels a bit more like a culmination of all the red flags that we have seen coming from afar from a team built to compete but not yet dominate. This week has been about the best example of how discerning fans can disagree whether this Cubs team has turned a corner or is still just the same old Cubs from the past couple of seasons. Record Last Week: 4-2 (17-11 overall) Runs Scored: 25 Runs Surrendered: 29 Standing: 2nd in NL Central (0.5 GB) Transactions 04/28/24 Chicago Cubs placed LHP Jordan Wicks on the 15-day injured list. Left forearm strain. 04/28/24 Chicago Cubs selected the contract of LHP Richard Lovelady from Iowa Cubs. 04/28/24 Chicago Cubs optioned LHP Luke Little to Iowa Cubs. 04/28/24 Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Daniel Palencia from Iowa Cubs. 04/27/24 Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Dan Straily to a minor league contract. 04/27/24 Chicago Cubs traded 1B Garrett Cooper to Boston Red Sox for cash. 04/25/24 Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Nico Zeglin to a minor league contract. 04/24/24 Chicago Cubs placed 1B Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list. Right rib fracture. 04/24/24 Chicago Cubs recalled OF Pete Crow-Armstrong from Iowa Cubs. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs placed RHP Kyle Hendricks on the 15-day injured list. Low back strain. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs designated 1B Garrett Cooper for assignment. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs placed LHP Drew Smyly on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 22, 2024. Right hip impingement. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Hayden Wesneski from Iowa Cubs. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs recalled LHP Luke Little from Iowa Cubs. 04/23/24 Chicago Cubs recalled 1B Matt Mervis from Iowa Cubs. Game Recaps Tuesday, April 23rd. Cubs defeat Astros 7-2 Mike Tauchman solidified himself as the best 4th outfielder in MLB with this 2 Home run, 4 RBI outing Jordan Wicks goes six innings to get the quality start The Cubs scored 5 runs in the 1st inning which is the most they’ve scored in the 1st inning all year Cody Bellinger ran into the brick wall at Wrigley and suffered two fractured ribs Wednesday, April 24th Cubs defeat Astros 4-3 Dansby Swanson continued his hot streak with a 3 run home run in the 1st inning The Cubs scored at least four runs in the 1st inning in back to back games for the first time since 2018. Jeremy Pena forgot that Ian Happ is a gold glove left fielder. https://www.mlb.com/cubs/video/jameson-taillon-in-play-no-out-to-jeremy-pena-9govlx?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share Thursday, April 25th. Cubs defeat Astros 3-1 The Cubs bats outlast Justin Verlander’s return to form. Pete Crow-Armstrong finally gets his first MLB hit and, wow did he do it in style https://www.mlb.com/video/pete-crow-armstrong-homers-1-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-miguel-a-y4pz2q?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share Friday, April 26th. Cubs defeat Red Sox 7-1 Michael Busch had three hits to snap an 0 for 15 stretch Shota Imanaga left the game with a 0.98 ERA, the lowest ERA by a Cubs rookie pitcher in the live ball era. Saturday, April 27th. Red Sox defeat Cubs 17-0 You can feel free to forget that this game ever happened. Sunday, April 28th. Red Sox defeat Cubs 5-4 Jordan Wicks landing on the IL with forearm tightness seems like a big deal. Mike Tauchman is really starting to demand everyday playing time Daniel Palencia looked pretty good. Best Moment of the Week Pete Crow-Armstrong finally got his first hit and… wow. Last September was pretty brutal for almost all things Cubs-related. For the fans, it was a slow, precipitous slog to non-contention. For the players, it was the combination of a too-heavy workload and slumping at the wrong time culminating in a late-season swoon that ultimately cost manager David Ross his job. The face of all of that was probably the Cubs top prospect- Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA went hitless in 14 at-bats after being called up for the first time last September. Ross was reluctant to let him and fellow rookie Alexander Canario help much during the stretch run, preferring instead to keep penciling in the names that had been on his roster most of the season instead of taking advantage of the influx of youth to the team. In Ross’s defense, PCA has a history of struggling at a new level at the outset. He struggled at both high-A and AA for the first couple of weeks when he first got there. So when he showed up in Chicago on September 11th of last year, with only three weeks left in the season, even the numbers suggested that he probably would not be able to contribute much to the team, and those numbers bore out. Crow-Armstrong went hitless in his 19 plate appearances last season. A lot of folks blamed Ross for not playing him more, which is somewhat fair, given his sparse playing time and the fact that Ross went on record to suggest that he did not want to play him. https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2023/9/19/23881545/whats-best-balance-between-rest-leaning-guys-who-got-you-here-chicago-cubs-david-ross Last season was last season, though, and this season has brought about a new manager and a fresh sense for Cubs fans of exactly what PCA could mean to this team. Craig Counsell seemed pretty direct in both praising PCA during Spring Training, while also noting that the Cubs top prospect is still unbelievably young. It seemed when camp broke that the plans for PCA were to keep learning at the AAA level this year as a top priority, and just to stay ready if the injury bug hit the major league roster. Well, unfortunately, the injury bug has hit the major league roster. Seiya Suzuki has been out for a week with an oblique injury, and then Cody Bellinger ran into the Wrigley outfield bricks sans ivy on Tuesday night. PCA was called up out of necessity at that point, primarily for defense, but given his 0fer to end 2023, his bat is what everyone was watching. Would he go another stretch without a hit? If he did, would that ruin him mentally? These were some legitimate questions that a lot of Cubs fans had in September. The fact that the first hit never came meant that those lingering questions *really* lingered. While it’s impossible to get into the mindset of how PCA internalized that September stretch, I think it’s safe to say that anyone in that position would want to prove the doubters wrong. Time will tell if he will ultimately silence those doubters, but for one night at least they were definitely muted when he rocketed his first MLB hit into the right field bleachers. Hopefully it will be the first of many big hits for PCA in a Cubs uniform. Worst Moment of the Week Saturday We really don’t need to talk about it. Seriously, it’s not going to do anyone any good. Weekly Notes In the aftermath of Cody Bellinger’s injury there has been some, not a lot, of talk about how dangerous it is to have a brick wall in the outfield at Wrigley that players have to avoid running into. I’ll be honest, it seems like a valid concern. The one thing that stops me short of wanting the Cubs to finally make a change there and maybe add some padding of some kind, is that these injuries are so rare that they are basically non-existent. There have been players that have hit the wall pretty hard, including Darryl Strawberry, but nobody has actually broken a bone doing so until now. So, while a lot of us may be thinking about the possibility of doing away with the bricks (and ivy), I don’t think we’re there quite yet. As the injuries pile up, the depth of this roster is starting to really show. At one point, the team looked like it was without its entire starting outfield. Suzuki is out, Ian Happ had to take a few games off with a hamstring strain, and then Bellinger literally hit a wall. Through it all, the Cubs were able to call up replacements and keep the train rolling (Saturday’s game notwithstanding). Jordan Wicks has been placed on the IL with a forearm strain. It's yet to be determined the severity of the injury, but given how important Wicks has been to the depleted rotation, one would have to hop for the best. 3 Stars of the Week 3rd Star - Hector Neris 2nd Star - Dansby Swanson 1st Star - Shota Imanaga Looking Forward Monday, 4/29 - Cubs @ Mets (6:10 pm CDT) - RHP Luis Severino vs. RHP Jameson Taillon Tuesday, 4/30 - Cubs @ Mets (6:10 pm CDT) - LHP San Manaea vs. RHP Javier Assad Wednesday, 5/1 - Cubs @ Mets (6:10 pm CDT) - RHP Jose Butto vs. LHP Shota Imanaga Thursday, 5/2 - Cubs @ Mets (12:10 pm CDT) - RHP Adrian Houser vs. RHP Ben Brown Friday, 5/3 - Brewers @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Saturday, 5/4 - Brewers @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Sunday, 5/5 - Brewers @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD View full article

I like that approach to the season so far. I share the sentiment that it is a marathon, and I also find the things that go right more interesting than the things that go wrong. I think that Hendricks will be fine. He's not really experiencing a huge dropoff in underlying metrics. It's more of a location problem, possibly a pitch mix issue, both of which he should be able to solve in fairly short order. Alzolay, on the other hand, does have some issues when it comes to the metrics, specifically the shape of his pitches, and I am worried about him. Neris would not be someone I would go with as closer just looking at numbers, but some pitchers are better when they are in the role of closer and maybe he's one of those guys I don't know... I've been seeing Dansby catching some flak lately from the fan base generally, and I just don't get it. I'm with you, when he's doing things like trying to help Alzolay, or helping Morel with his defense, or even just stepping in to Suzuki's spot in the batting order while he's out, those are the things he's being paid to do. His overall production matters, but as long as his approach is at this elite level I'm just going to sit back and watch him work and try to enjoy it.

The Cubs finished the week with a winning record. That's the good news. The bad news is that the bullpen continues to let them down. A change in reliever roles may have already occurred, but more changes will be necessary if the team is to right the ship going forward. In a week somewhat marred by injuries to Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, here is your recap of all things Cubs. Image courtesy of © Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports Record Last Week: 4-3 Runs Scored: 37 Runs Surrendered: 32 Standing: 2nd in NL Central (2 GB) Transactions 04/15/24 -Chicago Cubs recalled LF Alexander Canario from Iowa Cubs 04/15/24 -Chicago Cubs placed OF Seiya Suzuki on the 10-day injured list. Right oblique strain 04/17/24 -Chicago Cubs transferred RHP Julian Merryweather from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Right shoulder strain 04/17/24 -Chicago Cubs selected the contract of RHP Colten Brewer from Iowa Cubs 04/17/24 -Chicago Cubs optioned LHP Luke Little to Iowa Cubs 04/17/24 -Chicago Cubs optioned RHP Daniel Palencia to Iowa Cubs 04/17/24 -Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Hayden Wesneski from Iowa Cubs 04/18/24 -Chicago Cubs activated 3B Patrick Wisdom from the 10-day injured list 04/18/24 -Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Julio Teheran to a minor league contract 04/18/24 -Chicago Cubs activated RHP Jameson Taillon from the 15-day injured list 04/18/24 -Chicago Cubs optioned RHP Hayden Wesneski to Iowa Cubs 04/18/24 -Chicago Cubs optioned 2B Miles Mastrobuoni to Iowa Cubs 04/20/24 -Chicago Cubs recalled LHP Luke Little from Iowa Cubs 04/21/24 -Chicago Cubs optioned LHP Luke Little to Iowa Cubs Game Recaps Monday, April 15th. Cubs defeat Diamondbacks 3-2 Michael Busch entered the Cubs record books by homering in his fifth straight game. Ben Brown continued his excellent start to the season, holding the D-Backs to one hit and one run over six solid innings. The hero of this game was Nico Hoerner, who scored from second on a wild pitch to tie the game in the ninth inning, and then chopped a shoulder-high fastball into right field to plate the winning run in the 11th inning. https://www.mlb.com/gameday/747213/video/bryce-jarvis-in-play-run-s-to-nico-hoerner Tuesday, April 16th. Diamondbacks defeat Cubs 12-11 Kyle Hendricks and Adbert Alzolay continued their early season struggles as the Cubs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The only Cubs starting position player to not get a hit in the game was Michael Busch, who entered the game having homered in five straight games. An absolutely historic way to lose a game: Wednesday, April 17th. Cubs defeat Diamondbacks 5-3 Hayden Wesneski arrived on an overnight flight from Iowa to give the Cubs four shutout innings out of the bullpen, and Craig Counsell certainly recognized just how badly needed his performance was: Cody Bellinger showed some signs that he is starting to heat up. Friday, April 19th. Cubs defeat Marlins 8-3 Rainout on Thursday allows the Cubs a much needed day off after nine straight games on the west coast. Jameson Taillon made his season debut and looked as good, maybe better than ever. Dansby Swanson continues to provide production from the two-hole while Seiya Suzuki remains out with oblique strain. Saturday, April 20th. Marlins defeat Cubs 3-2 (Game 1) Adbert Alzolay blew his fourth save of the season after only blowing three saves all of last year. Nico Hoerner remains scorching hot at the plate Did I mention that Adbert Alzolay blew another save? Saturday, April 20th. Cubs defeat Marlins 5-3 (Game 2) Hector Neris took over at least temporarily for Adbert Alzolay in the closer role and nailed down the save to secure the win. Shota Imanaga continues to impress in the early going. He has only walked two batters in 21.1 innings on the season. Sunday, April 21st. Marlins defeat Cubs 6-3 Kyle Hendricks continues to struggle, although some signs of improvement are definitely there. Ian Happ left Friday’s game with left hamstring tightness. In the three games he has missed, the Cubs are 1-2. Nico Hoerner is now officially scorching hot at the plate. Splitting a four-game series at home to one of the worst teams in baseball may be something that comes back to haunt this team. Best Moment of the Week Michael Busch ties a Cub record with his fifth straight game with a home run. When the Cubs traded away Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope for Busch and Yency Almonte, it was quite a gamble by the somewhat conservative Cubs front office. On the one hand, Busch is exactly the type of player that a team desperately trying to take the next step toward contention should take a chance on. He was ready to play full-time at the major league level, but he was blocked at that level with the Dodgers because they had all-star level players playing in front of him. On the other hand, in his limited time in the big leagues, Busch had not shown any real results. Well, he is showing results now. On Monday, he showed that the Cubs gamble has already paid off with an entry into Cubs history when Busch tied Christopher Morel, Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, and Hack Wilson as the only Cubs players to ever homer in five consecutive games. Worst Moment of the Week Adbert Alozolay’s fourth blown save of the season The Cubs bullpen is clearly a work in progress. At times it has looked good, namely during the series in Seattle just last week. Other times it has looked exceptionally bad, as was the case for multiple games in the two series this week. Alzolay hasn’t been the only culprit, but he is the one with the title of “closer” so his struggles will always be magnified tenfold. Game one of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Marlins was one such time. The Cubs had struggled on offense but had gotten some great pitching from Javier Assad and three different relievers to get them to the ninth inning clinging to a one run lead. This was the type of game that closers are meant for. Alzolay did not meet the moment though, giving up a two-run home run to Bryan de la Cruz to put the Marlins ahead for good. The fact that there was a save opportunity later that same day in game two of the doubleheader that went to Hector Neris instead of Alzolay is extremely telling. The Cubs do not have a closer as of this moment. Weekly Notes Ian Happ remains out with a left hamstring injury but has not been placed on the injured list. In fact, he told reporters on Sunday that he may be available to hit if needed in Sunday’s game. Hopefully Happ is back in the Cubs starting lineup soon. Ben Brown’s versatility is starting to become a weapon for Craig Counsell. After starting Monday’s game and giving the team six strong innings, he was able to come into Saturday night’s game in relief of Shota Imanaga and pitch two scoreless innings to get the game to the ninth inning. It will be interesting to see how Counsell uses this weapon going forward. 3 Stars of the Week 3rd Star - Dansby Swanson 2nd Star - Shota Imanaga 1st Star - Nico Hoerner Looking Forward Tuesday, 4/23 - Astros @ Cubs (6:40 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Wednesday, 4/24 - Astros @ Cubs (6:40 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Thursday, 4/25 - Astros @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Friday, 4/26 - Cubs @ Red Sox (6:10 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Saturday, 4/27 - Cubs @ Red Sox (3:10 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Sunday, 4/28 - Cubs @ Red Sox (6:10 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD View full article

Chicago Cubs baseball has been on a West Coast swing! If you missed any of last week's action, here's a quick recap of how the North Siders fared against the Padres and Mariners. Image courtesy of © Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports Record Last Week: 3-3 Runs Scored: 24 Runs Surrendered: 27 Standing: T-3rd in NL Central (1.5 GB) Transactions 04/10/24 - Chicago Cubs sent RHP Jameson Taillon on a rehab assignment to Iowa Cubs. 04/11/24 - Chicago Cubs traded C Joe Hudson to New York Mets. 04/12/24 - Chicago Cubs optioned RHP José Cuas to Iowa Cubs. 04/12/24 - Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Keegan Thompson from Iowa Cubs. 04/14/24 - Chicago Cubs signed RHP Julio Teheran to a minor-league contract. Game Recaps in 15 Words or Less Monday, April 8th Padres defeat Cubs 9-8 The Cubs blew an eight-run lead for the first time in 22 years. Tuesday, April 9th Cubs defeat Padres 5-1 Christopher Morel is a Guy. Ben Brown is a Guy? Wednesday, April 10th Padres defeat Cubs 10-2 It would have been nice to have been up 2-0, because here comes Dylan Cease, and there he goes. Friday, April 12th Mariners defeat Cubs 4-2 Jordan Wicks can't keep pace with Bryce Miller, who silences the Cubs bats. Saturday, April 13th Cubs defeat Mariners 4-1 Shota Imanaga still hasn't allowed a run. Christopher Morel is a Gold Glover? Sunday, April 14th Cubs defeat Mariners 3-2 Michael Busch stays hot. Javier Assad and the bullpen twirl a gem Worst Moment of the Week Cubs Blow an Eight-Run Lead The Cubs were cruising heading into the bottom of the 6th inning on Monday night in San Diego. They were up by a score of 8-0 and, coming off two straight series wins last week, looked like they were almost unstoppable. But baseball had other ideas. Javier Assad walked the leadoff batter. Jake Cronenworth blasted a home run the very next at-bat. That cut the lead to six and very quickly cut Assad’s night short. The bullpen was not ready to pick up their starter, though, leading to an epic collapse, culminating in Fernando Tatis Jr. blasting the go-ahead two-run homer in the 8th inning to seal the deal. Tatis Oof.mp4 Best Moment of the Week Christopher Morel's grand slam Monday’s blown lead was simply brutal. It could easily have been the kind of loss that cascades into further misery, especially when you consider that Monday’s game was game one of a nine-game West Coast road trip. Tuesday needed to be better. The Cubs were playing so well up until that point that you’d hate to see a glimmer of doubt start to creep in and affect morale. After four innings, the game was a scoreless pitcher’s duel. I don’t know how other Cubs fans were feeling, but I found it hard to enjoy most of what Ben Brown did in that game until it was over, because the effects of the night before were still top of mind. Then, all of a sudden, Yan Gomes blasted a solo home run to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. I exhaled slightly, but it still didn’t feel like enough. That homer was followed by an Ian Happ walk, a Seiya Suzuki single, and a Cody Bellinger hit-by-pitch, which chased Padres starter Joe Musgrove from the game. Still, the score was just 1-0 at that point, but that’s when the big dog ate. Christopher Morel put an absolute charge into an 84-MPH Stephen Kolek sweeper, launching it into the second deck in left field for a grand slam that announced with authority that the Cubs were going to be just fine. Morel Boog.mp4 Weekly Notes Michael Busch became the first Cubs rookie since 1901 to hit a home run in four straight games. The first baseman has solidified his spot on the Cubs roster and in the everyday lineup, after coming over from the Dodgers this past offseason. His play has nicely filled what was a glaring offensive hole for the Cubs since they traded away Anthony Rizzo at the deadline in 2021. Christopher Morel keeps improving defensively. The third baseman made a pair of very difficult plays at the hot corner in Saturday’s victory in Seattle. Craig Counsell’s trust in Morel is paying off early, even with the errors he’s had in other games. None of those errors ended up costing the Cubs a game. Meanwhile, the web gems he made on Saturday were directly responsible for the victory. 3 Stars of the Week 3rd Star - Seiya Suzuki (8 hits, including 2 doubles and a home run) 2nd Star - Christopher Morel (grand slam, stellar defense) 1st Star - Michael Busch (4 HR, 6 RBI, 1.247 OPS) Looking Forward: A Full Boat Monday, 4/15 - Cubs @ Diamondbacks (8:40 pm CDT) - RHP Ben Brown vs. RHP Merrill Kelly Tuesday, 4/16 - Cubs @ Diamondbacks (8:40 pm CDT) - RHP Kyle Hendricks vs. LHP Tommy Henry Wednesday, 4/17 - Cubs @ Diamondbacks (2:40 pm CDT) - LHP Jordan Wicks vs. RHP Brandon Pfaadt Thursday, 4/18 - Marlins @ Cubs (6:40 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Friday, 4/19 - Marlins @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Saturday, 4/20 - Marlins @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Sunday, 4/21 -Marlins @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD View full article

The Cubs were back home this week for the first time in 2024, The friendly confines proved to be very friendly for the North Siders. If you missed any of last week's action, here's a quick recap of how the Cubs were able to take care of business against the Rockies and Dodgers. Image courtesy of © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports Summary for the Chicago Cubs' Week in Review for the week starting April 1st. Record Last Week: 5-1 (6-3 overall) Runs Scored: 44 Runs Surrendered: 22 Standing: 3rd in NL Central *** Game Results Game 4 | Cubs 5, Rockies 0 Game 5 | Cubs 12, Rockies 2 Game 6 | Cubs 9, Rockies 8 Game 7 | Cubs 9, Dodgers 7 Game 8 | Dodgers 4, Cubs 1 Game 9 | Cubs 8, Dodgers 1 Transactions 04/04/24 - Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league contract. 04/05/24 - Chicago Cubs signed free agent C Ali Sánchez to a minor league contract. 04/06/24 - Chicago Cubs sent 3B Patrick Wisdom on a rehab assignment to Iowa Cubs. 04/07/24 - Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Daniel Palencia from Iowa Cubs. 04/07/24 - Chicago Cubs placed RHP Julian Merryweather on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 6, 2024. Right shoulder strain. 04/07/24 - Chicago Cubs sent RHP Jameson Taillon on a rehab assignment to Tennessee Smokies. Breakdown The Cubs are playing like contenders. Offensively, they are taking great at-bats, and coming up with timely hits. The pitching, for the most part, has been terrific. We’ve already seen some real improvement from Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks. The bullpen needs to be a little more consistent, but that was always going to be a bit of a question mark. Defensively, you’d hope that our corner outfielders would maybe try to find some better sunglasses, and there are still questions at third base, but once again the stellar double play combo that is Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are making up for whatever deficiencies have been exposed. The first series of the week was the home opening series versus the Colorado Rockies, featuring a homecoming for former Cub and World Series champion Kris Bryant. The Cubs made short work of the Rockies, sweeping them and outscoring them by 16 runs over the course of the three games. It was the kind of series that the Cubs should absolutely win, but more than that it was a sign that this Cubs team could be special. Great teams are supposed to blow out bad teams, and that's exactly what happened in this series. Up next, the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers came to Chicago for a three-game weekend series. The Cubs took Game 1 behind sheer grit and tough at-bats. Dodgers starter Bobby Miller looked unhittable in the first inning, striking out the side in order, but the Cubs got to him in the second inning to such a degree that he didn't even make it to the third inning. The key to those at-bats was patience at the plate, as six Cubs hitters in a row saw at least five pitches. Game 2 of the Dodgers series was an unfortunate display of what the lack of timely hitting can do to a ballclub. The Cubs loaded the bases in each of the first two innings against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but failed to bring home even one run. The Dodgers capitalized on the lack of offensive efficiency from the North Siders and ultimately won the game by a score of 4-1. The rubber match was all Cubs. Michael Busch got the good guys on the board early with a bases-clearing double in the first inning. The Cubs scored one run in each of the next three innings to take a 6-0 lead into a rain delay in the bottom of the 4th inning. The delay meant that Shota Imanaga didn't technically get the win, but he deserved it. His strikeout of Ohtani, as mentioned below, really set the tone for the game. Best Moment of the Week Shota Imanaga vs Shohei Ohtani Ohtani came up in the two hole in the top of the 1st inning on Sunday. Imanaga got Mookie Betts to fly out to right field. Next up was his WBC teammate Ohtani, who gave a quick head bow to the southpaw. Imanaga reciprocated, as is custom with Japanese players, but at first glance it looked like it caught Imanaga by surprise. I wondered if this was possibly a little gamesmanship from Ohtani to try and throw the Cubs' starter off rhythm. Frankly, there are a lot of things about Ohtani lately that are being questioned, so maybe some of that was going on in my head. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Imanaga put a fastball three inches from Ohtani’s chin, and any worry I had about Imanaga’s approach quickly dissipated. Ohtani fouled off the next pitch, another four-seamer. He then threw two sweepers for balls, although the second sweeper was probably a strike. With the count 3-1, Ohtani whiffed on a 94 mph four-seamer to run the count full. Imanaga kept filling the zone, getting Ohtani to foul off the next three pitches, two four-seamers and a splitter. Finally on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Imanaga reared back and threw his fastest four-seamer yet up in the zone and got Ohtani to swing through it for the strikeout. That's what we call a tone setter right there. Worst Moment of the Week Jose Cuas coming on in relief of Jordan Wicks in a scoreless game against the Dodgers. Admittedly, this had to be a tough spot for Cubs manager Craig Counsell. Wicks had just reached 100 pitches on the day, the most he has ever thrown in the majors. The big lefty was also in a 2-on, 2-out situation with the right-handed power hitting Teoscar Hernandez coming up to the plate. It was pretty clear that a pitching change needed to be made, but going with Cuas seemed like a questionable decision at the time and ultimately proved to be a mistake. Cuas walked Hernandez on four pitches to load the bases, bringing up Max Muncy. The very first pitch to Muncy saw Yan Gomes set up on the outside part of the plate, followed by Cuas throwing the ball about two feet inside. That pitch obviously got past Gomes and allowed Austin Barnes to score, which made the game 1-0. The Dodgers never looked back and the Cubs suffered their only defeat of the week. Weekly Notes Luke Little became the first Cubs pitcher to finish one game and start the next day’s game since Warren Hacker on May 2, 1955, via Cubs researcher Chris Kamka. As our own Matt Trueblood took note of, it seems as though Jordan Wicks has fully transformed how he’s throwing his fastball since making his MLB debut last year. Over his first six starts with the Cubs after being called up in September he threw a TOTAL of four 4-seamers with more than 19” IVB. In his three starts since then (including the last start of 2023), he’s thrown 20 such pitches, including seven on Saturday. That level of improvement is unbelievably impressive. Credit to pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and obviously credit to Little for putting in the time and effort. Michael Busch showed up against his former team. Busch was traded to the Cubs from the Dodgers over the offseason essentially because there was nowhere to play him in this stacked Dodgers lineup. They have Freddie Freeman at first base and Ohtani at DH. That made him expendable and the Cubs were more than happy to oblige when the Dodgers made him available. In his first series against his former club, Busch proceeded to show them exactly what they gave up. In the three games, he went 3-for-9 with two doubles, one home run, four RBI, and two runs scored. He also made an unbelievable play at first base to end Friday’s game. 3 Stars of the Week 3rd Star - Christopher Morel - 6-for-21, one home run, two RBI, five runs scored 2nd Star - Seiya Suzuki - 7-for-18, two home runs, 10 RBI, one double 1st Star - Shota Imanaga - 12 strikeouts and zero walks in 10 IP. Should be two wins, but wins are overrated anyway. Looking Forward: On the Road Again Monday, 4/08 - Cubs @ Padres (8:40 pm CDT) - RHP Javier Assad vs. RHP Yu Darvish Tuesday, 4/09 - Cubs @ Padres (9:05 pm CDT) - TBD vs. RHP Joe Musgrove Wednesday, 4/10 - Cubs @ Padres (5:40 pm CDT) - RHP Kyle Hendricks vs. RHP Dylan Cease Friday, 4/12 - Cubs @ Mariners (8:40 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Saturday, 4/13 - Cubs @ Mariners (8:40 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Sunday, 4/14 - Cubs @ Mariners (3:10 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD View full article

Cubs baseball is back! If you missed any of last week's action, here's a quick recap of how the North Siders fared against the Rangers in their opening series of 2024. Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Record Last Week: 1-2 (1-2 Overall) Runs Scored: 14 Runs Surrendered: 20 Standing: 4th in NL Central (2.5 GB) *** Game 1 | TEX 4, CHC 3 Game 2 | TEX 11, CHC 2 Game 3 | CHC 9, TEX 5 Transactions 03/28/24 - Chicago Cubs selected the contract of 1B Garrett Cooper from Iowa Cubs. 03/28/24 - Chicago Cubs placed 3B Patrick Wisdom on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 25, 2024. Back strain. 03/28/24 - Chicago Cubs placed RHP Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 25, 2024. Back strain. 03/28/24 - Chicago Cubs placed RHP Caleb Kilian on the 60-day injured list. Right shoulder strain. 03/29/24 - Chicago Cubs signed free agent C Curt Casali to a minor league contract. 03/30/24 - Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Ben Brown from Iowa Cubs. 03/30/24 - Chicago Cubs placed LHP Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 29, 2024. Left hamstring strain. Breakdown It was a rough start, but at least it wasn’t a sweep. That is the main takeaway from a very tough assignment opening the season on the road against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. The Cubs drew the ESPN game of the week on Opening Day in Arlington against the defending champs. It was an exciting debut, filled with heartbreaking injury, unbelievable luck, and ultimate heartbreak in extra innings. Adbert Alzolay blew a save, and the Rangers won by a score of 4-3. Saturday’s game was not any better; it was much worse as the Cubs were blown out by a score of 11-2. The only real highlight of the game was Dansby Swanson’s 2-run home run to give the North Siders an early 2-0 lead before everything went sideways. The ship was righted on Sunday, though, as the Cubs took the lead on a 3-run home run from Christopher Morel in the 1st inning to propel them to their first win of the season. Main Takeaways While Cubs fans will almost assuredly feel like this was just more of the same bad results that plagued the team at the end of last season, there were some prominent signs that this is a very different team. First of all, the bullpen looks pretty good. The blown save aside, the main four Cubs relievers- Alzolay, Hector Neris, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. were incredibly solid, giving up only one run combined over nine innings in the three games in Texas. That one run, of course, was the solo home run that Alzolay allowed Thursday, but the overall results are positive. The offense took some time to come together but ultimately came through. Of the nine runs scored on Sunday, four of them came in the 9th inning, mostly through station-to-station hitting. If there is one sure way to stem a two-game losing streak, it is timely hitting, and that’s exactly what we saw during that win. Michael Busch is definitely ready. Not only does he know how to run the bases like a 10-year vet, but he can also hit the ball incredibly hard. The starting pitching rotation is hurting. After the injury to Justin Steele, the Cubs are left with 3/5 of their likely Opening Day rotation, as Jameson Taillon also remains out with a back injury. The good news, if there is good news, is that Ben Brown was called up to fill one of those spots, and beyond that, Javier Assad seems ready to fill the other. Will that be enough, though? That is the question. The answer is that the team needs Steele to regain full health. This team can probably patch things together for a month or so, but ultimately, they are at the mercy of the health of their ace. Ian Happ is the right choice to lead off against right-handers. In the series finale on Sunday, Happ reached base five times, hitting two singles and a double while drawing three walks. In his final at-bat, in which he drove in the game-winning run, he drew three straight balls after falling behind 1-2 in the count. Many Cubs fans have been clamoring to see what Happ could do in the leadoff spot, and he emphatically delivered. Christopher Morel was the team’s best offensive threat throughout the series. His defense at third base, notwithstanding, Craig Counsell was right when he said that he needs to play every day. Other Tidbits: -There are currently three qualified Cubs with an OPS over 1.000 - Christopher Morel, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson. -The Cubs have drawn 16 walks in three games. They’ve also struck out 22 times. -The Cubs have yet to attempt a stolen base this season. -Ben Brown gave up six earned runs in his debut, though all six could easily be erased if the official scorekeeper had (rightly) given errors to Swanson and Morel. 3 Stars of the Week 3rd Star - Mark Leiter Jr. (2.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4K) 2nd Star - Ian Happ (.417/.500/.500, 2 RBI) 1st Star - Christopher Morel (.357/.357/.714, 3 RBI, HR, 1 3B) Looking Forward Monday, 4/01 - Rockies @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - RHP Dakota Hudson vs. LHP Shota Imanaga Tuesday, 4/02 -Rockies @ Cubs (6:40 pm CDT) - LHP Kyle Freeland vs. TBD Wednesday, 4/03 - Rockies @ Cubs (6:40 pm CDT) - RHP Cal Quantrill vs. TBD Friday, 4/05 - Dodgers @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Saturday, 4/06 - Dodgers @ Cubs (3:05 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD Sunday, 4/07 - Dodgers @ Cubs (1:20 pm CDT) - TBD vs. TBD View full article

By now, everyone has seen the play that allowed the Cubs to take the lead in the top of the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers in the season opener. It was on a wild pitch, except that it wasn’t a wild pitch because Miles Mastrobuoni swung and got the most fractional foul ball in baseball history. Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports The slight graze of the ball off his bat was inaudible, meaning there was almost no way for home plate umpire Chad Fairchild to know it was a foul ball. He, therefore, gave no such signal, and Michael Busch took that as a cue to score from second base as the ball bounded toward the backstop. It was chaotic, and it was almost instantly known that the Cubs had stolen a run. What followed then should not have been surprising, especially for those of us aware that baseball karma is a thing, and this play was begging for that karma to work its magic, which it did in fairly short order. However, let’s look more closely at the play before we look at the repercussions. The first thing that is obvious immediately after the swing is the reaction of Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, who knew it was a foul ball because the slight redirection prevented him from catching the ball. Mastrobuoni probably also knew it was a foul ball because his bat touched it. Once the slowed-down replay was available, the rest of us knew it was fouled, but in real-time, the only people who knew were Heim and Mastrobuoni. Heim’s reaction caused Rangers pitcher Jose Leclerc to lose track of where he was supposed to be. He got caught watching Heim argue with Fairchild instead of covering the plate. Mastrobuoni had almost zero reaction. Whatever time it took for him to process what was happening must have been measured in milliseconds because he did not indicate that he had fouled the ball. As Leclerc had done with Heim, Busch took his cue from his teammate and took off running. It was an exhilarating play to watch in real-time. It was less exhilarating watching the replay and seeing that the run should not have counted. It did count, though, because that is not a reviewable play. For me, and probably for many Cubs fans at the moment, the idea that I should feel bad about some stroke of luck going my way seemed preposterous, though. I’ve been through too much over the years to feel like the scales will be balanced in my favor for as long as I live. Everything from Brant Brown to Seiya Suzuki and everything in between is as much a part of the fabric of my Cubs fandom as Dexter Fowler’s home run to lead off Game 7 of the World Series. What followed, though, seemed like an inevitability. The Cubs took that one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, where pinch-hitter Travis Jankowski took almost no time blasting a ball into the right field seats to tie the game. The game then went into extra innings, during which some interesting things happened. The Cubs loaded the bases in the top of the tenth inning. The Rangers had decided to intentionally walk Cody Bellinger with a base open to face Christopher Morel. Morel then hit one of the most exciting foul balls in recent memory. I thought it would be fair, as many other folks did, including Rangers pitcher David Robertson, who let out one of the biggest sighs of relief ever when the ball hooked foul at the last second. Robertson then finished the inning unscathed, which set the scene for Heim himself to knock in the winning run in the bottom of the inning. It almost seemed a little too scripted to be believable. Is the catcher who lost the argument with the umpire the same guy who won the game in extra innings? It seems a little too on-the-nose, no? And yet, we all saw it happen. It was a dream ending of a season opener for the Rangers. It was heartbreak for the Cubs. That’s it. That’s the only takeaway? Well..no, actually. Yes, karma reared its ugly head by the end of the game, but there were some very important and interesting takeaways from the game, more specifically, just from that one play. First of all, Mastrobuoni’s reaction was perfect. Should he have admitted he got a piece of the ball? That is an emphatic NO. Why? Because that’s why we have umpires. It’s their job to call that properly, not the players. This is baseball, not golf. Mastrobuoni played that off like the veteran player he is, something that I think many Cubs fans don’t give him credit for. He is the perfect guy to have on a bench if needed. He’s just going to go in and do his job. The other Cubs player involved in the play, Michael Busch, did something even more impressive. He was at second base when the swing occurred. He may have even seen the ball get redirected, but his instincts were to trust his teammate and his baseball IQ and sprint home. A ten-year MLB veteran would know to do that, but Busch is not a 10-year vet; he’s a rookie. A rookie playing in his first-ever regular season game with his new organization, no less. These were wily veteran reactions to a complicated play, and even though it ultimately came back to bite them in the end, this is an unbelievably good sign from now on that this Cubs team has some gamers on the roster. One game does not make a season. Preparedness, good instincts, and a high baseball IQ matter throughout a season. We saw all of these things in the season opener in one weird, wild play. These are the building blocks of a winning team, and I remain as convinced today as I was before the game yesterday that a winning team is what this team will be at the end of the year. This particular dose of karma relaxes me because me and karma vibe like that. View full article

We've gone around the diamond. Now, let's preview the 2024 Chicago Cubs' designated hitter situation. Image courtesy of © Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Looking at this 2024 Cubs lineup, we see a good, healthy mix of certainty and doubt. The middle infield is basically written in stone. Corner outfield? Same. The catcher combo is locked in and looking good. We all assume that Cody Bellinger will be patrolling center field more often than not. We then come to the corner infielders, which we are being led to believe are locked up, with Christopher Morel at third and Michael Busch at first. The degree of certainty here definitely goes down, but the plan seems relatively certain. After that we come to the most fluid position of them all: designated hitter, a spot that is purposefully the most in-doubt of them all, with quite a few options for manager Craig Counsell to choose from on a game-to-game basis. Let’s dive into how Counsell is likely to approach the position, and what options he has from which to choose. We have some indication on how Counsell plans on using the DH from the man himself, via quotes he gave at the outset of Spring Training. “It’s the position I’ve thought the least about," Counsell said on Mar. 2, in response to a question about DH duties. "That probably means that it’s going to be a bunch of guys. Right now I’m viewing it as very open and uncommitted.” Counsell’s past managerial history shows just that. While he was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, and when the DH was an option for him, he utilized it in quite a few different ways. Occasionally, he would use it to get his backup catcher some at-bats (or, last year, to get star backstop William Contreras's bat into the lineup without asking him to catch every day). Sometimes he would use it to rotate four outfielders into three spots. There were times he would use it to make sure his infielders got a day off here and there. There were also some stretches where he had a true DH, like a Rowdy Tellez or a Daniel Vogelbach, that he would slot into the position for a month or so at a time. The fact that he never stuck with the true DH for more than parts of a season leads me to believe that is not his preferred way of doing things, though. It appears that what he likes to do is leave the spot available to rest and rotate his everyday players, and that is what we should expect to see this season. Potential Options Now that the roster is set for Opening Day, I expect some patterns to emerge based on the opposing starting pitcher that day. First, there are only so many left-handed hitters for Counsell to choose from, so against a right-handed starting pitcher, look for one of the trio of Bellinger, Mike Tauchman, and Michael Busch to be in that DH spot almost every time, while the other two are in center field and at first base. Miles Mastrobuoni will be a bench option from the left side, and David Peralta could work his way into the mix once fully healthy, but at this point that doesn’t appear likely. How much variance we see here will tell us if Counsell is using this spot to rest guys in the field or if he has a preferred option. The next pattern we should look for is the lineup against left-handed starters. Garrett Cooper will make the roster. Until very recently, it seemed as though Alexander Canario would make it as well. Unfortunately, he was the last hitter optioned to the minors, and presumably will be the first one called up if the team finds itself in need of some slugging. So, Cooper represents the right-handed bench bat that will see a bump in playing time in those matchups against lefties, either at DH or at first base. Lastly, I do think Counsell will occasionally allow his second catcher to get some extra at-bats by slotting them in at DH. I don’t think it will happen as much as it happened under David Ross, who loved this move, but Counsell did use this tactic in Milwaukee a bit. The bottom line is that DH will remain fluid throughout the season, not necessarily because it will be an afterthought, but because there are tactical reasons to give guys days off and keep them rested, and it looks like Craig Counsell is going to do just that. Is there someone you feel should be the DH on more of a daily basis? Or do you like the idea of having some flexibility? Let me know in the comments. View full article

With Opening Day a mere five days away, the Cubs are starting to make the final touches to reduce the roster to 26 players. Yesterday, we learned that Dominic Smith chose to opt out of his minor league contract, making him a free agent. Today, it is Carl Edwards Jr. who is choosing free agency rather than accepting a role in the minors. Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs invited Dominic Smith to attend Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, and it certainly seemed like he was making the most of it, hitting .346 with a .909 OPS and one home run. He was brought in before the Cubs re-signed Cody Bellinger, so there was always that lingering feeling that he was probably brought on board more as an insurance policy in case a deal was not reached between Bellinger and the team. Bellinger signed about a week after Smith was brought in, but that didn’t deter Smith from producing at the plate. If he had shown a little more power, it could have forced the Cubs' hand, but unfortunately, that lack of pop has plagued him his entire career. This one is more of a melancholy happy trails, and maybe a little more of a surprise. There were reports just this morning that Carl Edwards Jr. would likely make the roster. Just speculating on the timing of the move, it seems like there could be one of two reasons behind it. Either they can’t make it work from a 40-man roster perspective now that they’ve committed to keeping Garrett Cooper on the roster, or they are more worried about Justin Steele getting hit in the knee with a comebacker than they (well, technically he) are letting on, and want to use that last bullpen spot for a long reliever if they choose to move Drew Smyly into the rotation for a bit. Of those two scenarios, I think (and hope) it’s the former. Cooper was just announced yesterday as having made the team, so the timing lines up right, especially if the team is trying to be as transparent with these players as possible, which you certainly hope they would be, especially with a former World Series Champion. That leaves the Cubs with just a few decisions to make to get the roster down to 26. It seems like they’ve committed to 11 position players and 12 pitchers, leaving just two more bats to add and one more arm. Here is a quick breakdown of who is likely already on the team: Hitters: Miguel Amaya Cody Bellinger Michael Busch Garrett Cooper Yan Gomes Ian Happ Nico Hoerner Christopher Morel Seiya Suzuki Dansby Swanson Mike Tauchman The last two spots probably belong to Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom. Still, they are both assumed to begin the season on the injured list, which means one of those spots is almost assuredly going to Miles Mastrobuoni, and the other spot will come down to either Alexander Canario or David Peralta. Pitchers: Rotation: Justin Steele Shota Imanaga Kyle Hendricks Jordan Wicks Javier Assad Bullpen: Adbert Alzolay Hector Neris Justin Merryweather Mark Leiter Jr. Yency Almonte Jose Cuas Drew Smyly The last spot seems like Luke Little’s to lose at this point. However, I could also see them looking at Wesneski as someone who could eat innings. I could also see them going outside the organization to see who will opt out of minor league spring training deals with other teams as the roster crunch hits everyone. Maybe someone like Naoyuki Uwasawa has been very impressive with the Rays this spring but could opt out of his deal with them if he doesn’t break camp with the big-league club. Ultimately, though, I do expect Little to get that spot. We are getting very close to some real live regular-season baseball. Just a couple more decisions, just some loose ends, and Chicago Cubs baseball will be on the air before you know it. I cannot wait. View full article

It's fantasy draft season. If you're like me, you want to win, and ideally, you want to do so while rostering some of your favorite North Siders. It just makes the long season more fun. Here are the best ways to do that in 2024. Keeper League Target: Seiya Suzuki This is my pick for breakout player on this Cubs team. His value heading into next season’s drafts will be significantly higher than his current value. So whatever you pay for him, whether it’s an eighth-round pick, a 10th-round pick, or an auction number around $16, he will be worth keeping at that price next season, in my estimation. The reason I believe this is simple. The projections are not properly accounting for the adjustment that Suzuki made near the beginning of August last season, an adjustment that we all saw happen, and one we all saw make a huge, tangible difference in his results. From April through the end of July, Suzuki hit 8 home runs in 376 plate appearances. In the final two months of the year, he hit 12 home runs in just 207 plate appearances. That home run rate over a full season would have netted him 33 dingers on the year, instead of the 20 with which he finished. Projections for this year have him around 22 home runs for the year. Take the over, and take Suzuki. Dynasty League Target: Cade Horton I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m extremely high on Cade Horton. For a pitcher of his caliber to be undervalued in dynasty leagues is a little unheard of, but the numbers are bearing out that he is going way too late in drafts. A quick comparison between him and another starting pitching prospect, Ricky Tiedemann, shows exactly what I am talking about. In most prospect rankings, Horton is above Tiedemann. Rotoballer Fantasy ranked their top starting pitching prospects and has them as follows: 2. Horton 5. Tiedemann MLB Pipeline rankings for overall prospects has it: 26. Horton 29. Tiedemann Keith Law at The Athletic has them in his top 100 prospects as: 49. Horton 52. Tiedemann My main point is that Horton is at least on par with Tiedemann, so their ADP should also be similar, right? Well, let’s take a look at it, according to FantasyPros: 412. Tiedemann 528. Horton This just seems wrong, and while I think some of this is due to playing-time projections, I can’t in all honesty say that Tiedemann is more likely to pitch substantial innings in the majors than Horton this year. As a matter of fact, I think the Cubs will end up needing the services of Horton more than the Blue Jays need Tiedemann. To me, that makes Horton a steal at his ADP, and someone you can confidently take almost 120 picks earlier than he is currently being drafted. Feel free to bump him up your boards. Two-Catcher Leagues: Miguel Amaya Miguel Amaya is ready to become the number one catcher on the team, which could greatly increase his playing time. I wrote about this earlier this week. If you extrapolate Amaya’s baseline 5x5 numbers out to account for that increased playing time, it could look something like this: 56 Runs 15 HR 56 RBI 7 SB .244 AVG For reference, this is the full-season projection for the Rangers’ Jonah Heim: 56 Runs 18 HR 64 RBI 2 SB .246 AVG These numbers are shockingly similar, especially when you consider that Heim is being drafted 12th among catchers, whereas Amaya is going 44th. So, even in two catcher leagues, Amaya isn’t currently being drafted as a starter. None of this is a given, obviously, and if I took Amaya as my second catcher I would certainly make sure I had a backup plan. For instance, I may choose to roster both Amaya and Yan Gomes (going 30th among catchers), assuming I had room on my bench, and just see how it plays out. Honestly, if your league has daily moves, this strategy may work regardless of playing time, as new manager Craig Counsell seems a lot less likely to use his backup catcher as the DH than former manager David Ross, meaning you should know which of the two of them to start on your team every day. Quick Fantasy Nuggets - Christopher Morel will add 3B eligibility early in the season, making him eligible at 2B, OF, and 3B in most leagues. So if you are in a deep league and position flexibility matters, you should bump him up. - In a Saves+Holds league, the value of Héctor Neris goes WAY up. He should be the primary eighth-inning guy when the team is ahead, and could vulture some saves when Adbert Alzolay is unavailable. - In dynasty leagues, now is the time to pounce on Jefferson Rojas. He’s already made one huge offseason jump up the Cubs prospect rankings, and another stellar season could see him enter the overall MLB top-100 lists. - I almost added a sixth option in the meat of this article for especially deep leagues, and if I had, my pick would have been Michael Busch. My reason for doing so would have been mostly based on playing time speculation, which I think will be much higher than most projection systems are giving him. I’m just unsure about what his production will be, so I didn’t add the category. But if you are in a super deep league, or an NL-only league, Busch should be drafted. What are some of the strategies that you’ve picked up on? Let me know in the comments. And good luck to those drafting this week! View full article

I still want to believe in Marquez. I also still want to believe in Josh Vitters though, so take that for what it's worth.

This offseason has been filled with a lot of opinions and debates, right or wrong, on what should, could, or would change on the Cubs roster. Who could play third base? Who should play first base? Who would they sign? Who is the 5th starter? And so on, and so on. One thing that most people have been mostly silent on, though, is the catcher position. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports From day one of the offseason, the general consensus was that the Cubs would probably just run it back with the same duo that was behind the dish for most of the 2023 season: the proven veteran Yan Gomes, and the previously untested rookie Miguel Amaya. It makes total sense. They had a solid, if not spectacular, year. But if it wasn't spectacular, then why wouldn’t the club at least attempt to improve the situation? I think I know the answer to that, and it’s because they believe that Amaya passed those rookie tests with flying colors and is ready to take the next step to stardom. Amaya is a former top prospect who has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows throughout his career, since signing with the Cubs as a 16-year-old out of Panama in 2015. He played in the MLB Futures game in both 2018 and 2019. He was rising up prospect lists and riding high. Then came the bad. The lost 2020 season cut short his development. He had Tommy John surgery in 2022. As he was making his way back from that injury, he suffered a high ankle sprain and a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot later that same year. At that point, the player who was once tabbed the Cubs' catcher of the future was relegated to a bit of an afterthought, both in terms of perception and projection, as he tumbled down top prospect lists. It’s important to remember just how good Amaya was previous to those injuries, though. A November 2020 scouting report by Matt Thompson at Prospects Live gave him the following grades: OFP Role Hit Power Field Arm Run 50 55 50 60 55 55 30 Offensively, that report and others have liked Amaya’s raw power and contact ability. His short bat path gives him the ability to wait on pitches, and while his leg kick is somewhat more constrained than it was when he was a teenager, he still uses it to provide timing and leverage. Defensively, he’s always been ahead of the learning curve by degrees, mostly because of his ability to get to know his pitchers' strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. Looking at that report from four years ago, it mentions that Amaya would have a unique handshake for every player on the roster. That tracks with what we learned last year, when we would hear pitchers on the Cubs staff rave about him. Even Kyle Hendricks, who calls his own game, was effusive in his praise for Amaya. “He sees the hitters perfectly," Hendricks said. "He knows what they’re trying to do, whether they’re getting on the plate, getting off the plate, certain things like that. He just sees the game. He’s going to be great for a long time.” Gomes, meanwhile, is an extremely talented veteran backstop. The Cubs are the fifth team for whom he has played, in a career entering Year 13. He won a World Series in 2019 with the Nationals. His presence allowed the Cubs to move on from Willson Contreras following the 2022 season without skipping much of a beat offensively, and perhaps improving defensively. The offense that Gomes provided last year was an unexpected bonus, but considering he turns 37 in July, I don’t believe that counting on him to keep providing clutch hits in the middle of the lineup is a recipe for long-term success. Luckily, they don’t have to. They can upgrade the position simply by adjusting their playing time, giving Amaya the playing time of a bona fide starter, while using Gomes as a true backup. Looking at Baseball-Reference Marcel projections for 2024, they give Gomes the following line: PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 439 403 47 101 19 1 13 58 3 0 23 88 .251 .299 .400 .699 And here is what they project for Amaya: 278 242 34 59 11 1 9 34 4 1 24 64 .244 .335 .409 .744 To me, that line for Amaya reflects some of his positive hitting traits when it comes to OBP and SLG, but I would expect his strikeout rate to be much better than that projection. Nonetheless, it’s a fair snapshot of their current abilities. As such, let’s see what happens if we simply swap their playing time. What would it look like if Amaya got the 439 plate appearances? It may look something like this: 439 395 56 97 18 2 15 56 7 1 39 104 .244 .335 .409 .744 Offensive projections for Amaya are likely to be at their lowest possible point, when you consider all the work he had to put in defensively upon being called up straight from Double-A in May of last season. Again, just based on anecdotal evidence from interviews with Cubs pitchers, we can tell that Amaya’s first priority was to embed himself into the pitching staff to do that part of his job at an exceptional level. After an offseason of preparation and a full spring training with the big-league club, it would seem probable that he should be able to focus more on his offense this year than last. So those baseline numbers are likely to be his floor. That’s not bad for a floor. Those are basically the same numbers that Contreras had last season. If he can improve upon them even a little bit, the Cubs will have themselves an answer at the catching position for a long time. The 6’2”, 230-pound Amaya is what you would get if you built a catcher in a lab. He is a big, sturdy target whose main goal is to facilitate the pitching staff, but he can also wield the lumber at an above-average rate when it comes to both power and contact. The Cubs are a team in need of players to step up and become more than just replacement-level pieces. They need to figure out which positions on the field and in their lineup can generate above-average results. This season, I expect that to come from the catcher position in the form of Miguel Amaya. What are some of your X-factors? Do you think Amaya has what it takes to get to that next level? Let me know what you think. View full article

In true Cubs fashion, they have signed a fan favorite at the last minute. Eight years ago it was Dexter Fowler that signed on February 25th to much fanfare and applause from both players and fans at the outset of Spring Training. This year, it’s Cody Bellinger who gets to receive a grand re-welcoming, hopefully with the same results of that season. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports Jeff Passan confirmed late Saturday evening that the Cubs and Cody Bellinger agreed on a three-year, $80 Million deal with multiple opt-outs. Bellinger will receive opt-outs after each of the deal's first two years. It is quite a coup for a front office notorious for soliciting short-term deals even though the market around them has been embracing long-term deals for most of the high-end free agents. You would have to assume that the long-term deals for Bellinger never materialized, much to the chagrin of Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras. Given that Bellinger had only shown one year of above-average statistical output after two years of far below-average production, I’m not sure why the Bellinger camp would have expected much more than they received. However, one can hardly blame them for asking for more, considering that Bellinger was an elite player at one point in his career, winning the National League MVP in 2019. The simple answer is probably that recency bias matters to a certain degree, and every team with money to spend has had to factor in those two unproductive years. Bellinger’s value to the Cubs, though, considering what he provided to them in 2023, most likely mattered more than his value to other teams. What does this mean for this Cubs team? Let’s look at it from a few different points of view. First Base Michael Busch has been tabbed as the most likely player to open the season as the starting first baseman. It should be noted that he has not played in the first two Spring Training games for the Cubs, though. Now, that could be a circumstance; it could be a very mild injury, or it could be that the team is trying to tell us something about Busch being not ready. That last part is pure speculation, but in light of the Bellinger signing, it is something to consider. Bellinger was as good as it gets as a first baseman for the Cubs in 2023, and reinserting him into that position for 2024 would make a lot of sense. That said, first base is not Bellinger’s preferred position… Center Field Bellinger’s preferred position is center field. He has won a Gold Glove as an outfielder and has expressed a preference to play there. He may get his wish, as his likely replacements are either very young (Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alexander Canario) or journeymen (Mike Tauchman). For me, this is where the contract terms come into play. Suppose the Cubs had signed Bellinger to the seven-year deal that some expected. In that case, I think they would have been compelled to play him in center field because, at that point, you are talking about a franchise player demanding to play at his preferred position, and nobody would have batted an eye at that happening. This deal, though, is not a franchise-level deal. It does not require the team to appease the player and play him where he wants. That is not to say that Bellinger cannot play center field. He’s a great center fielder! But it does mean that the Cubs are free to play PCA in center field (something that I think should be done regardless) without worry of an albatross contract standing in the way of that plan. Designated Hitter This is the part you want to pay attention to if you are a fan of Michael Busch, Patrick Wisdom, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Nick Madrigal, or Alexander Canario. Bellinger’s signing is going to affect one of those players. Before the signing, it seemed almost inevitable that Canario and Tauchman would get a shot at playing time on the big league team as a fourth outfielder; at the very least, if Bellinger ends up mainly playing center field, that would eliminate a spot for one of them. If Bellinger plays first base, it would eliminate a utility infield spot that could be rostered by either Wisdom or Madrigal. It’s hard to see a scenario where both of them are rostered if Bellinger is the everyday first baseman and Christopher Morel is playing third base. The argument in their favor would be that Morel may end up somewhere other than third base, but I believe that Morel has all the tools to stick there, and Craig Counsell is determined to keep him there, which means that Morel is the starting third baseman for this team. Bottom Line Bellinger opted out of $25 million and ended up with $30 million. It was a win for him and the Cubs. He could make more than that if his 2023 results are accurate, but the team does not have to pay for future value that is strictly hypothetical. Meanwhile, the Cubs are still $7 million under the luxury tax and can use that money to sign another free agent now or wait until the trade deadline to reassess their needs. His addition solidifies the Cubs as absolute contenders in 2024. View full article

Cade HortonPete Crow-ArmstrongMatt ShawKevin AlcantaraMichael BuschOwen CaissieJames TriantosAlexander CanarioJordan WicksJefferson RojasBen BrownMatt MervisMoises BallesterosLuke LittleBJ Murray JrLuis VazquezJaxon WigginsHaydn McGearyPablo AliendoChristian Franklin