With less than a week before MLB’s opening day, it’s the perfect opportunity to make starting lineup predictions.  Starting out, it was made public by Marcus Stroman himself that he’s taking the rubber come opening day March 30. It makes sense, as he’s one of the veteran pitchers on the team and has been a bonafide No. 1 starter for …

We have now hit the home stretch before the 2023 MLB season kicks off.  The Cubs are slowly trimming their roster down to the 26 players that will open up the year next Thursday.  Most of the roster is set.  There are a few question marks remaining, however. One question has been resolved in my (and mostly everyone’s) opinion. Hayden …

With the 2023 MLB regular season less than two weeks away, a battle for the fifth starting pitcher position continues. Right now – on March 19 – Hayden Wesneski is winning that battle against Adrian Sampson and Javier Assad. Wesneski, now a second-year starter following a mid-season trade to the Cubs during his rookie campaign, was dominant in his six …

The focus of this space this week turn north of the boarder. No, I’m not talking about the Blue Jays. It’s Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic.  The biggest names on the roster are Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers and Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals. Making a splash for the team, albeit a small sample size, is Cubs minor …

Back in the beginning of February, I wrote a piece about Cubs bullpen options. In that discussion I came to the conclusion that I would prefer the Cubs signed one of the other options available before they even thought about adding Zack Britton.  They completed that first step by signing Michael Fulmer. Zack Britton remains unsigned as more reliever options …

The Chicago Cubs pitching staff has dominated its competition Thursday-Saturday, allowing one run in 27 innings, including throwing the team’s first no-hitter Friday night against the San Diego Padres. A meaningless game in spring training or game one of the World Series, it’s incredibly difficult to throw a no-hitter at the highest level of baseball. The Cubs pitching staff did …

The biggest news out of Mesa this week was Seiya Suzuki’s diagnosis of a moderate oblique strain.  The injury leaves his status for Opening Day in jeopardy. More than likely Seiya will find himself on the IL when the season opens and missing the first couple of weeks in the best case scenario.  That, however, leaves a hole in Right …

Cubs’ minor league call-ups thrived in the team’s spring training opener – a game that saw numerous player and rule change debuts. Trailing 5-2 with most of the team’s starters out of the lineup, it was the Cubs’ top prospects that put on a show, resulting in a 10-8 win at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The first seven batters …

Seiya Suzuki came to the Chicago Cubs in 2022 with a lot of excitement. He was automatically penciled in to be a part of the new “core” that led the Cubs into the future.  A star throughout his nine-year NPB career, his rookie season saw a lot of ups and downs. The Cubs right fielder looks to draw from that …

Pitchers and catchers report to Arizona next week for the start of Spring Training.  The Cubs starting rotation is pretty much set barring any unforeseen injuries.  Kyle Hendricks remains a question mark, however, as he continues his recovery from a capsular tear in his throwing shoulder.  It has already been announced Hendricks will be “a little behind schedule.” That will …