Spring Training Miscellany: Cubs Lose Two, Pitching Shaky, Bryant, Zobrist, Chatwood, Court, More

Mar 18, 2018

The Cubs dropped today’s Las Vegas contest handily against the Indians 11-4, and also lost to the Royals at Sloan 11-9. But everyone had fun and got cream sodas after the game, so it’s all good.

Tyler Chatwood continued his strikeout barrage in the Royals game, fanning six in 5.0 innings. That said, he also walked three and gave up seven hits, combining for four earned runs. Not a great day overall, but I’m more interested in the strikeouts. Having never really been a strikeout guy, he’s now K’d 18 in just 16.0 innings. I’ll be fascinated to see how what he’s been doing in Spring Training translates to the regular season.

Kris Bryant sure does love hitting in his hometown:

Kris Bryant career with #Cubs at Cashman Field in Las Vegas (his hometown)
during Big League Weekend (10 games):
.364/.481/.864, 6 Runs, 3 HR, 6 RBI

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) March 18, 2018

Given his wrist issue last year, which made him sufficiently uncomfortable from the right side that he couldn’t really swing for long stretches, this is good to hear:

#Cubs Zobrist 1-for-3 today and says he's feeling good from right side of plate. Finally getting some LHP to face in Spring Training

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 18, 2018

Justin Wilson had a very rough day, yielding a walk, single, homer, and double in succession after entering an inning with two outs. Given that he was pitching back-to-back days (he pitched quite well yesterday) and has been dealing with a blister issue, this kind of outing makes me a touch more nervous than it normally would in Spring Training. A quality reliever obviously has to be able to pitch on back-to-back days.

Javy Baez played shortstop in Mesa without issue, and Willson Contreras hit a monster homer. Old friend Jorge Soler went 3-3 in that one with a home run.

Utility man Ryan Court continues to blitz Spring Training:

.@CourtHouse19 (.417 avg., 4 HR, 7 RBI) is having a very nice spring! #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/O3W9neALMn

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 18, 2018

The 29-year-old has never made it to The Show, but can play ever position except catcher and pitcher, and has always produced at a slightly above average pace in the minor leagues. The rub for him, aside from a big league roster that’ll be tough to crack without an injury, and even tougher to see playing time, is that he pretty much always sported a high strikeout rate in the minors and not quite enough power to make up for it. A high BABIP and walk rate were the primary drivers of his success, and those numbers always tighten up in the face of better pitching and defense in the big leagues.

Rob Zastryzny made the start for the Cubs in Las Vegas, and got knocked around over 2.2 innings. Uncomfortably, Dillon Maples followed with 1.1 innings in which he struck out three … but also walked three.

Hey, how about Alberto Baldonado with 1.1 scoreless and a couple strikeouts. I am #NotAScout, but he’s a guy who just looks like a big league pitcher. Also, Alec Mills finished off that Las Vegas game with three scoreless, as he soon sets up shop as one of the Cubs’ depth starters at AAA Iowa.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

Spring Training Miscellany: Cubs Lose Two, Pitching Shaky, Bryant, Zobrist, Chatwood, Court, More

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