Opinion: 10 Thoughts on the Chicago Cubs

Overall, things look good.

Wrigley FieldPhoto byHeather MaguireonUnsplash

The Cubs recently blew an 8–0 lead over the San Diego Padres. It was one of the worst collapses in team history. Yes, the team has a bullpen problem. The team has been hitting, but injuries to the pitching staff has put a hurting on the team.

Still, the team is sitting at 7–5, which is not bad, all things considered. Here are ten thoughts on the state of the early season Cubs.

1: Ben Brown looks to be the real thing. The Cubs could use some help in the rotation and the bullpen. Brown looks like he could help in either area. Don’t be shocked if Brown is the Cubs closer in the not too distant future.

2: Kyle Hendricks looks to be toast. And I hate to say that. For many of us, Kyle is a favorite. He just doesn’t have the stuff to be an effective major league pitcher.

3: Javier Assad needs to be in the starting rotation. Assad seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of the Cubs staff. While Assad has clearly outperformed Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks, he seems to get slighted when it comes to opportunity. Last season the Cubs lost out on the playoffs by one game. In large part it was because of their insistence on playing older, over the hill guys instead of younger, better performing players.

4: The bullpen needs help. Free agent signing, Hector Neris, hasn’t been effective. In addition, closer Advert Alzolay doesn’t look to be a legit closer. His stuff seems a little short. The pen could feature Ben Brown, Luke Little and even Drew Smyly in high leverage situations later in the year.

5: Michael Busch looks the real deal. He’s a patient hitter with some power. Even defensively, while not great at picking it at first, he’s not bad, and will probably get better.

6: Shota Imanaga and Jordan Wicks look solid in the rotation. They provide some stability for the Cubs’ rotation in a turbulent time.

7: Craig Counsell seems to have gotten the batting order right. For some reason, David Ross had Ian Happ hitting third a lot last season. A batting order of Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger and Morel at 1–4 has been very potent.

8: There is no reason for Jose Cuas to be on the big-league team. The Cubs pen in general has been bad, but Cuas has been the worst. He has options left. The Cubs need to use one of them.

9: Catching is a concern. Yan Gomes is coming off an excellent 2023 season but is off to a slow start and is 36 years old. Miguel Amaya is still largely unproven at a major league level.

10: Help will be available from the farm. As the season progresses, the Iowa Cubs and Tennessee Smokies should provide some help. Matt Shaw and Cade Horton are two names that come to mind, but the Iowa Cubs should provide some bullpen help soon.