Part II will focus solely on Jon Lester’s postseason resume. Below, Part I will break down the rest of the roster.
Youth has served the Cubs well in 2015. Behind the play of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Hector Rondon, Addison Russell, and hell, even Starlin Castro, the team is playoff bound for the first time in seven years. The young core is not beholden to the organization’s past postseason ghosts, and they appear poised and ready to author their own October stories. Of the Cubs eight best players by bWARP, five are 26 or under and making their first trip to the postseason. So, when it comes to playoff baseball, the young guns in Cubbie blue are a bit green.
With this plethora of young talent, it would be easy to overlook that, according to ESPN, the Cubs have the seventh-oldest roster in baseball. The team’s youthful core is augmented by a group of solid veteran contributors, many of whom have postseason experience.
In fact, among the players who might appear on the roster at some point in October, 11 have been to the playoffs. Six players have appeared in the World Series, and three won a World Series just two seasons ago. Five players have appeared in the Wild Card game since its inception in 2012. When you look below at the playoff veterans surrounding Bryant, Schwarber, and the rest, it becomes obvious why almost all of them are here, whether it be for his production, character, temperament, or versatility. Given the meticulous roster construction of the Epstein & Hoyer regime, this should comes as no surprise.
Of course, recent history is littered with teams making deep playoff runs despite little or no previous postseason experience on the roster, like the Kansas City Royals last season or the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. While previous playoff experience is alliteration, it is not a prerequisite for October success. Similarly, a player having been to the playoffs, be it last season or nearly a decade ago, does not portent success in 2015.
However, October is a weird, emotional month that seems like both a blur and never ending slog. Each pitch brings a bizarre mix of anticipation and dread, and while fans likely feel that pit in the stomach with more severity, it must be draining mentally and physically for the players. And while you cannot quantify the impact of veteran presence, having players who have been there before surely has an impact.
If the team loses game one, or even games one and two, it helps to be reminded that five and seven games series are long affairs. Or, after a key error or rally killing double play, when emotions can get the better of a young player, to have a David Ross to put his arm around you, Miguel Montero to lighten the mood, or Jon Lester to go out and respond with a shutdown inning.
Below is a primer on the postseason experience and performance of the Cubs roster, including some highlights and a preview of perhaps what can be expected of them this October.
Position Players
Austin Jackson
Postseason Appearances: 3
Plate Appearances: 155 (.233/.333/.346, 34.2% K, 12.3% BB, 2 HR)
The late season acquisition has more postseason plate appearances than the rest of the Cubs roster combined. Had the Tigers won the 2013 ALCS, Jackson would have been a stealth MVP candidate, hitting .318/.423/.318 from the lead-off spot. Jackson has been especially good in three LCS trips, hitting .297/.392/.453 in 74 plate appearances. In the 2012 World Series, Jackson reached base seven times in four games, and was really Detroit’s lone offensive bright spot in the four-game sweep to the San Francisco Giants.
Jackson has seen 4.19 pitches per plate appearance, the seventh-highest average in baseball this season. He also hit .278/.328/.420 against left-handers, and Tony Watson looming out of the Pirates bullpen (or even Clayton Kershaw waiting in a possible NLCS matchup), Jackson could become a vital outfield bat off the bench.
David Ross
Postseason Appearances: 5
Plate Appearances: 35 (.281/.324/.469, 31.4% K, 5.7% BB, 4 extra base hits)
In the past few weeks, the writers of BP Wrigleyville have devoted a considerable amount of words to David Ross, for being both a leader and an elite backup catcher with a history of postseason success. Ross has played in five postseasons with three organizations, winning a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. Ross started the final three games of the World Series, and Red Sox pitchers allowed just four earned runs.
Despite Ross’ three-season long stretch of offensive futility, he has a recent track record of big hits in October. As I wrote last month, “His (Ross) second-inning home run in the 2012 NL Wild Card game gave Atlanta an early 2-0 lead over St. Louis (the Braves would lose 6-3). In the 2013 World Series at St. Louis, Ross’s seventh inning RBI double in Game Five broke a 1-1 tie, and the Red Sox would proceed to take a 3-2 series lead.”
Ross has also done something only a 100 or so players can lay claim to in baseball history: catch the final out of the World Series. Ross has earned a reputation as a player who has a positive effect on a team whether he’s on the field or in the dugout, which seems especially important for a playoff team whose core is new to October baseball
Miguel Montero
Postseason Appearances: 2
Plate Appearances: 30 (.296/.367/.370, 20.0% K, 10.0% BB, 2 doubles)
Montero not only has playoff experience, but he has Wrigley Field playoff experience. In 2007, Montero was the backup catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he received the start in the decisive Game Three of the NLDS in Chicago. With the Diamondbacks leading 2-0 entering the fourth inning, Montero led off with a walk against starting pitcher Rich Hill, and came around to score Arizona’s third run. Arizona finished off the sweep with a 3-1 victory, in a game Cubs fans might forever remember as the double play game (seriously, 12 baserunners and just one run scored).
Montero returned to the postseason with Arizona in 2011. In the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Montero went 6-for-20 with two doubles and two walks. .296/.367/.370
The patron saint of #WeAreGood, Montero, like Ross, has that rare ability to be simultaneously relaxed and focused. That should help him thrive in October.
Quintin Berry
Postseason Appearances: 2
Plate Appearances: 29 (.192/.250/.269, 20.7% K, 6.9% BB, 5 SB)
The 29 plate appearances is a bit of a surprise, huh? However, in the 2012 ALCS against the New York Yankees, Berry started Games Two and Three, hitting a double and scoring a run in both games.
Berry, along with Lester and Ross, won a ring with the Red Sox in 2013. Boston kept Berry on the roster for all three rounds strictly for pinch-running purposes. Despite not recording a single plate appearance in the 16 postseason games, Berry stole three bases, one in each round. Even with his limited playing time that fall, Berry was on the top steps in almost every camera cut to the Red Sox dugout. He is a long shot to being on the roster, but those two traits—being a great, veteran teammate and doing one thing exceptionally (run)—could make Berry useful to the Cubs during October.
Dexter Fowler
Postseason Appearances: 1
Plate Appearances: 18 (.214/.235/.214, 3 K, 1 BB)
Fowler, the man who will be setting the table for the Cubs young sluggers in the postseason, was a 23-year-old rookie when he played in the 2009 NLDS with the Colorado Rockies. In Game One at Philadelphia, Fowler batted leadoff, going 0-for-4 against Cliff Lee. The Rockies would score just one run in a losing effort, and manager Jim Tracy would shake up the lineup, moving Fowler down to the two hole, while putting Carlos Gonzalez at the top of the lineup. Fowler would go 3-for-10 the rest of the series and the Rockies would average five runs per game, but the Phillies would advance in four games.
This season, Fowler has struggled against both the Pirates (.250/.337/.292) and Cardinals (.194/.289/.313), but he has been phenomenal in the second half.
Pitchers
Dan Haren
Postseason Appearances: 2
Innings Pitched: 19.1 (7 G, 3.26 ERA, 1.603 WHIP, 18.6% K, 8.1% BB)
Haren will (probably) not be making any starts in the postseason, but he does have experience coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs. For the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals, Haren made five appearances in three series, going 8 2/3 innings, striking out seven and allowing two earned runs. In Game One of the World Series at Fenway Park, Haren was brought in to face Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz with one out and the bases loaded. What 24-year-old wouldn’t welcome the modern day Ruth & Gehrig in the World Series ? Haren surrendered an RBI groundout to Ramirez and walked Ortiz.
Haren has been slightly better in September (2.63 ERA and 1.125 WHIP), but he has made just two relief appearance in the past five seasons, and with fastballs topping out at 87 mph. It will interesting to see how the Cubs utilize him in the playoffs.
Tommy Hunter
Postseason Appearances: 3
Innings Pitched: 14.1 IP (7 G, 4.40 ERA, 1.465 WHIP, 23.1% K, 3.1% BB)
Hunter has significant postseason experience both as a starter and reliever. With the Texas Rangers in 2010, Hunter started one game in all three rounds. He failed to make it out of the fourth inning in each start, posting a 5.56 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Aubrey Huff’s two-run homer in the pivotal Game Four (the Giants led the World Series 2-1), proved to be the game’s winning runs.
Hunter fared better out of the bullpen for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012 and 2014. In four appearances, he allowed three baserunners and no earned runs in three innings. By any statistical measure, Hunter has not been effective for the Cubs, and despite being a veteran postseason arm, it’s difficult to imagine him pitching meaningful innings this October.
Jason Hammel
Postseason Appearances: 3
Innings Pitched: 15.0 (4 G, 4.80 ERA, 1.467 WHIP, 25.4% K, 17.5% BB)
Hammel has appeared in four postseason games with three different teams, making three starts. In 2009, as a teammate of fellow rookie Dexter Fowler, Hammel started Game Three of the NLDS in Colorado. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven baserunners and four earned runs, including a first-inning home run to Chase Utley in the Rockies 6-5 defeat. In 2012, Hammel, then a Baltimore Oriole, made two starts in the ALDS against the Yankees. It’s hard to believe now after his past eight starts,, but Hammel started Game One of the series. He went 5 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs, but earned a no-decision. He would start the decisive Game Five in Yankee Stadium, again lasting 5 2/3 innings and surrendering two earned runs, but this time earning the loss.
Last season, Hammel, a member of the Oakland A’s, faced just one batter in the AL Wild Card game, but it would be memorable. Hammel entered in the bottom of the 12th with one out and the winning run on first. Hammel threw six pitches—all sliders. On 1-and-2, Christian Colon stole second base. Two pitches later, Salvador Perez pulled an 83-mph slider off the outside corner, past a diving Josh Donaldson for the go-ahead run.
Traditionally, Hammel has been slider-light in the postseason, throwing it just 19 percent of the time, compared to his 36 percent slider usage rate this season.
Fernando Rodney
Postseason Appearances: 2
Innings Pitched: 10.0 (10 G, 3.60 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 28.9% K, 20.0% BB)
Rodney’s World Series appearance came nearly a decade ago as a member of the Tigers in 2006. He was busy in the ALCS and World Series, appearing in seven of the nine games against Oakland and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was very Fernando Rodney-like in 7 2/3 innings, allowing 11 baserunners and four earned runs, but striking out nine. In the World Series, Rodney appeared in four of five games, and Scott Rolen’s seventh-inning RBI single provided the Cardinals with an insurance in their 4-2 series clinching win. Rodney returned to the postseason with the Rays in 2013. Against Boston in the ALDS, Rodney appeared twice, allowing five baserunners and two earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Not surprisingly, Rodney has been sinker-heavy in the postseason (46 percent), and his numbers since arriving in Chicago (0.774 WHIP and 31.7 strikeout rate) suggest he could be a major bullpen asset.
Clayton Richard
Postseason Appearances: 1
Innings Pitched: 6.0 (2 G, 1.42 ERA, 1.263 WHIP, 24.0% K, 12.0% BB)
Richard was a rookie when he appeared in two games in the 2008 ALDS for the Chicago White Sox. The South Siders would fall to the Tampa Bay Rays in four games, but Richard was excellent. He pitched three innings in both games one and four, allowing just one run, and recording six strikeouts.
This season, Richard has four relief appearances of at least three innings, including two in September. He has been very good in the season’s final month (3.97 ERA, 1.147 WHIP, 2.2 percent walk rate), and despite giving up more than a hit per inning pitched on the season and his career, could be an asset to the Cubs postseason bullpen.
Travis Wood
Postseason Appearances: 1
Innings Pitched: 3.1 (1 G, 1 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 0 ER)
Wood has been just shy of a revelation since moving to the bullpen in mid-May, and some would claim he is crucial to the Cubs postseason success. It’s fitting, then, that Wood’s lone postseason appearance was out of the bullpen for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2010 NLDS. As a 23-year-old rookie that season, all 17 of Wood’s regular season appearances were as a starter.
Edinson Volquez started Game One at Philadelphia, but lasted just 1 2/3 innings. Wood retired Chase Utley to end the second inning, and allowed just one hit and one walk, and striking out three, including Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth back-to-back. He would keep his team in the game, but it would not matter, as that night Roy Halladay pitched just the second no-hitter in postseason history.
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Be it on the field, on the bench, or in the bullpen, the Cubs have surrounded their phenomenal young players with some tremendous veterans. Their stars, at least offensively, might be young, but the locker room is filled with guys who have been through the October battles, and most have performed very well.
Lead photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports