Are the Cubs Trending in the Right Direction?
The Chicago Cubs have won two consecutive series and are now on the cusp of a third.
Before the series wins against the Giants and Rockies, the Cubs had not won a series since they swept the Cincinnati Reds in the first week of May.
This begs the question: Are the Cubs trending in the right direction?
PCA
It’s hard to talk about the 2026 Chicago Cubs without crediting a large part of their success to the year Pete Crow-Armstrong is having. Over the past two series, Crow-Armstrong has twelve hits in twenty-six at-bats.
That is good for a batting average of around 0.462, and his OPS has risen from .781 to .854!
On top of that, PCA also hit for the cycle in game one against the Rockies. Crow-Armstrong’s ability to do just about everything well on a baseball field has made him one of the biggest superstars in the MLB, and is getting him discussed as the potential National League MVP. The Cubs having a bona fide superstar in the lineup is a big reason they will not only continue to succeed this year, but also in the foreseeable future.
Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw
Pete Crow-Armstrong isn’t the only Cubs player doing damage on offense. It has been fascinating to watch the development of both Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw. The two young Cubs have been excellent as of late. Over the last two series, Ramirez had a batting average of .333 in twelve at-bats while also providing slug with a homerun and a double.
During that same span, Matt Shaw posted a .500 batting average in twelve at-bats and had a couple of triples. These two have provided a breath of fresh air for a lineup that, through the struggles, has felt stagnant at times. Both players are under the age of twenty-five and definitely contribute to the bright future the Cubs organization has with its roster.
Pitching
On the other side of the ball, the quality of starting pitching is directly correlated with the wins the Cubs picked up against the Rockies and Giants. Through the six games played, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Colin Rea, Shota Imanaga, and Edward Cabrera have tossed 31.1 innings. In that action, they have allowed thirteen earned runs. What is interesting about this is that the bulk of those runs came in two games where Colin Rea and Edward Cabrera collectively allowed nine earned runs. The two losses from those series were from both of those games.
Outside of those outings, the Cubs starters allowed just four runs across 22.1 innings. In those games, the Cubs came out on top. The starting pitching, while currently injured, has been good for the Cubs. Highlighted by the dominance of Ben Brown, there have been good performances from the Cubs’ staff.
While there was a point in the season when the Cubs weren’t winning many games, this club is starting to look better every day, game by game.
In the current series, the Cubbies have split the first two games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Categorized:Cubs