Cubs Live
By: Ryan Melson (@RyanMelson1)
“It’s The Cubs League” will come out on Saturday’s and will focus on the weekly news, notes, and highlights from the week. Monday 1) Mr. Cub. Jon Lester appears to be ready for the regular season. In his final tune-up before the regular season, Lester pitched six and two-thirds innings and allowed three runs. This spring, Lester has looked like the ace that has dominated MLB hitters since he came into the league. Since being a Cub, Lester has been nothing short of spectacular. It appears that Lester is right on track to have another dominant season. 2) Addy Clutch. Addison Russell continues to be an RBI machine. This is one of the most encouraging signs of the spring. Addison is healthy and it is already paying off. 3) The Great Schwarbino’s Discipline. Pay attention to the way Kyle Schwarber is handling his at-bats. He is hitting for a high average, he is hitting opposite field homers, and he is dialed in at the plate. Out of everything he has done well this spring, the one thing that sticks out to me is Schwarber’s plate discipline. In 51 plate appearances, Schwarber has walked eight times. His 6.4% walk rate is impressive because he is also hitting for power and average. If Schwarber gets to Bryant or Rizzo’s caliber of hitting this season (which he can), then the Cubs will be scoring a ton of runs. Tuesday 4) Off Day. The Cubs had an off day today. Wednesday 5) Yu Don’t Know What Yu Lost. Yu Darvish dominated his former team on Wednesday. Pitching six innings, Darvish allowed three hits, gave up one run, and struck out seven. Darvish’s command was particularly sharp. USA Today writer Bob Nightengale picked Darvish to be the NL Cy Young winner. As is the case with every Cub fan, I am all on board for Nightengale’s prediction to come true. 6) KB Stands For King of Baseball. Kris Bryant hit his first homerun of the spring in support of Darvish. While it is surprising this is Bryant’s first homerun of the spring, it was a mammoth shot to left center field that we are accustomed to seeing from the superstar. His lack of home runs this spring can be explained, though. Bryant has been focused on going to the other field more. Bryant can hit homeruns with the best players in the baseball, so this is not something he needs to aim for during spring games. Bryant is trying to become a more well rounded hitter, and it looks like that is going to happen for the former MVP. Plus, Kris is waiting to drop 50 homeruns during the regular season and doesn’t want to use them in spring training. 7) The Great Schwarbino’s Power. Kyle Schwarber launched his fourth homerun this spring on Wednesday. Schwarber’s homerun was unique because it was another opposite field long ball. Schwarber is covering the entire strike zone with his swing and he is making hard contact frequently. At this time last year, Schwarber was trying to pull the ball frequently, which contributed to his slow start to the season. 8) Cishek Closing. In his career, Pat Cishek has been a staple of consistency. This has been no different this spring with Cishek posting a 2.16 ERA. If the Cubs ever need someone to close out games for whatever reason Marrow cannot, look for Cishek to be relied on. 9) Carl’s Jr. Carl Edwards Jr. has also put together another nice spring. Carl is one of my favorite Cubs as he is such an easy person to root for, his stuff is filthy, and he has the best bullpen celebrations. 10) Relay Throw. Schwarber to Baez to Contreras. Not your ideal track team relay, but it is your ideal relay to throw opposing players out at home plate. This highlight is something that will bring a smile to your face. Thursday 11) Q Stands For Quality. Jose Quintana pitched another six solid innings against the San Francisco Giants. Q continues to churn out quality starts. In all of his years with the White Sox, Q was the most consistent pitcher at delivering quality starts. I cannot wait to see 32 of them in a Cubs uniform this year. 12) Willson’s Power. In 36 plate appearances this spring, Willson Contreras has four homeruns and three doubles. The ball may carry better in Arizona, but Willson’s strength is consistently on display. Willson is only projected to hit twenty homeruns this coming season, but I would take the over on that every single day with what he has shown in the past and what he continues to show in the present. 13) Strop’s Return. Pedro Strop made his spring debut and looked very sharp. I was worried Strop would be on the disabled list to start the season, but it looks like he is ready to go. 14) Bullpen Update. A reliever who has made an impression on the Cubs this spring is Anthony Bass. Bass was a former fifth round draft pick of the San Diego Padres back in 2008. Bass has had a ton of major league experience, but he has not pitched particularly well since 2011. This spring, Bass has posted a 1.59 ERA and it looks like he has a chance to make the team next week. 15) Bullpen Update Pt. 2. Randy Rosario has really struggled of late. Rosario had a very good shot of making this team, but his last few outing have been rough to say the least. The best part about Rosario is that the Cubs can outright him to Iowa to develop more. Look for Rosario to be called up at some point during 2018. Friday 16) Leading Off Happ-ily In 2018. Your unquestioned leadoff hitter to begin the 2018 season is Ian Happ. Happ launched another leadoff homerun, his sixth of the spring. I vote that Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena should groove a fastball right down the middle to open the season next Thursday against Happ. 17) Fear The Beard Is Back. While he was a little wild again on Friday, Tyler Chatwood pitched another solid outing. Over five and two-thirds innings, Chatwood allowed two earned runs on six hits. If Chatwood can deliver that consistency for the Cubs this season, he will easily out perform his contract. 18) Tommy La Stella Loses The Prank War. Do yourself a favor and see the prank video that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer put out in response to La Stella’s spring pranks. Anthony Rizzo narrates the hilarious video, so go and check that out immediately. 19) Wildcard For The Bullpen. Justin Hancock is another reliever who has sparkled this spring. Similar to Anthony Bass, Hancock is another former San Diego Padres prospect. Hancock has had a lengthy and decent overall minor league career. I have to wonder if Hancock is in serious contention for the last bullpen spot because of his spring. There has been no clear cut front runner for the last bullpen spot, so Hancock is in contention. 20) Cubs Release Bourjos. There was chatter over the past week that the Cubs were going to try and find a way to keep Peter Bourjos on the 25 man roster. That made zero sense because he would get zero playing time with the position players we have, and it is more important to have eight relievers at the beginning of the season anyway. News is now coming out that Bourjos will be released by the Cubs. This makes perfect sense, as the Cubs could not keep him. Bourjos will likely find another major league team, and we wish him the best of luck. 21) MVP Freeman. As the leader of the Mike Freeman fan club, I am trying to figure out travel plans for his MVP ceremony once games end in Arizona. Mike Freeman hit another double and his average is .408 this spring. Crown the man MVP.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Kyle MalzhanFounder who is an aspiring journalist who covers the Chicago Cubs daily. Archives
April 2020
Categories |