The first days of spring training are always ripe with storylines. A player is suddenly in the best shape of their life. Some are looked on as potential breakout stars or prospects. Others, like Arrieta, turn to their increasingly murky contract situations. Over the next few months, the idea of an extension will loom over […]
Category: Articles
Wladimir Galindo: Possible 2017 Breakout Bat
Last season, nearly everyone saw Eloy Jimenez coming as the next big Cubs hitting prospect. However, no one saw Jimenez being able to hit for a high average like he did. Heading into the 2017 season, some are looking for his power to increase enough for him to hit over twenty home runs. Along with Jimenez, there […]
Carl Edwards, Jr. & the Role of Future Cubs Closer
The Cubs spent a bulk of their resources over the course of the winter upgrading their bullpen. They not only upgraded the quality of arms on the Major League team, but stockpiled potential depth options in the likely event that a multitude of additional arms become necessary. But beyond this season the picture is somewhat […]
Addy’s 2016 postseason adjustment is carrying over to spring training and that is a very good thing
It’s funny to describe a player who amassed 3.86 wins above replacement last year as a breakout candidate. Baseball is chock full of good players who contributed that much to their teams’ success. For instance, David Ortiz (3.88) and Dexter Fowler (3.62). And yet, many observers, including a majority of the BP Wrigleycast crew, have pegged […]
Cactus Catchup: Spring Training Games Are Still Fun
We’re a week into actual spring training games, which means we have about another week until spring training starts getting annoying. A week from now, the carefree exhibition games will only remind us that this isn’t the real thing. We’ll still have another three weeks of watching three innings of the players we want to […]
A Brilliant Tandem: Why Anderson and Montgomery Make a Perfect Fifth Starter
The wonders of Cubs Manager Joe Maddon never cease, and before the first pitch has been thrown in the 2017 season, Cubs fans are seeing his strong baseball acumen at work again. In February, after a somewhat under-the-radar and late offseason move the Cubs made in signing left-hander Brett Anderson to a one-year deal, it […]
Division Preview: The St. Louis Cardinals
“Do not go gentle into that good night…rage, rage against the dying of the light.” – Dylan Thomas The triple digit win total of just two seasons ago must feel very, very far away right now. Ousted from the postseason by their arch-nemesis in one season, and then missing October baseball altogether the next must […]
A Brief Exploration of the Cubs’ Catching Depth
While the Cubs will head into the 2017 season with their lineup looking much the same way as it was for the bulk of last season, there’s still some intrigue about certain aspects of the roster. Centerfield is an interesting situation, and the return of Kyle Schwarber has obviously provided shiploads of buzz about of left field. […]
Joe Maddon’s Trust in His Young Core
Like many of you, I read Bernie Miklasz’s recent takedown of Mike Matheny from a few weeks ago principally for the schadenfreude. (A German word meaning “a new emotion as of November 2, 2016.”) As I did so, I noticed that one criticism in particular sounded awfully familiar: “Matheny, as always, remains dutiful and deferential […]
Is Kris Bryant Doomed for Regression?
Kris Bryant’s continued progression over the last three seasons has been nothing short of incredible. He’s got the hardware to prove it with Minor League Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and MVP awards all being added to his shelf in each of the past three years. All we’ve seen from Bryant since […]