Emma: Cubs' early success is an accomplishment, but not an accident

CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- As a coveted free agent two winters ago, All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson wanted to know not just whom he would be joining in signing with the Cubs. He also sought out to find which young players could ultimately join him.

Swanson’s great exploration in free agency included deep research on the farm systems of each suitor – an examination of their long-term futures. It’s part of why he signed a seven-year $177-million deal with the Cubs, who he believed were well positioned moving forward.

“I mean, that’s what you sign up for,” Swanson recalled. “It’s to be good not only now but for a long time.”

Now in his second season with the Cubs, Swanson has seen the farm system flourishing to the major-league level.

The Cubs have played some 4 2/3 innings with their top core this season. That’s when ace Justin Steele suffered a hamstring injury on opening night in Texas. Star center fielder Cody Bellinger (ribs), slugger Seiya Suzuki (oblique), along with starters Jameson Taillon (back), Jordan Wicks (forearm) and Kyle Hendricks (back) have each been sidelined by injuries.

The Cubs could’ve been decimated by these injuries, punished by a challenging early-season schedule and crushed by some gut-wrenching losses. Instead, they have thrived with organizational depth and direction. On Sunday, they beat the rival Brewers 5-0 to take two out of three in this anticipated series at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs (21-14) moved into a virtual first-place tie with the Brewers (20-13) atop the National League Central standings.

“We played a good game today,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell, whose move from Milwaukee last November brought greater attention to this series. “We played a solid series against another good team. And it’s on to the next challenge. That’s it. It's May 5. There are a lot of challenges ahead of us. We had a good challenge and we played well.”

Nobody can blame Counsell for downplaying the success of just 35 games – a mere 22% of the regular season. He was hired to lead victories in October, not April and May.

But it’s an accomplishment for these Cubs to have weathered the early storm as they did. Alongside Swanson and Gold Glove double-play partner Nico Hoerner, the Cubs have leaned on rookies like Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alexander Canario for lineup roles, while relying on key veterans like Mike Tauchman and Patrick Wisdom for key roles.

With the rotation set back, the Cubs have gotten quality spot starts from young arms like Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski. First-year southpaw Shota Imanaga has been spectacular at 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA. But perhaps the most pleasant surprise has been the continued stellar starts of right-hander Javier Assad.

Assad opened this season in the bullpen and prepared for a long relief role. He stepped in for Steele in the rotation, going 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA. The 26-year-old Assad has a career 2.77 ERA over 185 innings since debuting on Aug. 23, 2022. Sonny Gray, Shohei Ohtani and Justin Verlander are the lone starters with better ERAs in that span.

Assad is on track to earn an All-Star nod this season. At the very least, he isn’t prepared to relinquish his role in the rotation.

“Everything seems to be working right now,” Assad said.

When most teams suffer a rash of injuries like the Cubs have early this season, they turn to veteran stopgaps and hope to tread water along the way. The Cubs are not in that type of situation because of a consensus top-three farm system and a crop of talent ready to shine.

The Cubs have leaned on their organizational depth to find success thus far. When they welcome the Padres to Wrigley Field on Monday night, Steele will return to the mound. Bellinger and Suzuki are also expected back at some point this week. Hendricks and Wicks are each trending towards returning soon as well.

Reinforcements are on the way for the Cubs, who haven’t missed a beat. Their strong start this season is an accomplishment in its own right, though it's not an accident.

“It’s a testament to our depth and the resiliency of this group,” Swanson said. “But we also know it’s a marathon. It’s a six-month season, it’s not a 35-game season. We got 127 more.

“Things are looking up for us.”

 Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .