The Good and Bad of Chatwood, Bryant’s Explosion, and Other Bullets

May 12, 2018, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME SOCCERRRRRRRR?!?!? … that’s my mid-day today. So much soccer. The kids love it, though, so it’s all good.

Tyler Chatwood’s control problems are no secret, and they were no secret to the Cubs upon signing him. They knew the score with a 28-year-old guy that has absurd stuff, ridiculous spin, five average or better pitches, and a complicated delivery (sound familiar?). They hoped they could tease out a little more from him by working, among other things, on getting more consistency with the control and the command. It’s still a work in progress, and I’m by no means willing to jump ship just yet simply because Chatwood’s walk rate so hilariously the highest in baseball. At 19.3%, Chatwood’s walk rate is higher than anyone else by more than four percentage points (LOL … ish), and there are only six pitchers in all of baseball over 12%!!! Right now, Chatwood is the Mike Trout of walking guys.
But, like I said, there’s so much talent there – it’s obvious, and it does manifest itself periodically throughout his starts – that the Cubs have gotta keep working with him. I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Jake Arrieta or anything like that. But if he remains as hard to hit as he’s been, and tightens up the command juuuuuust a little, he’s gonna be a guy who can regularly give you six extremely competitive innings. As a fifth starter, he’d probably be the best in baseball.
His big issue yesterday, for what it’s worth, was his four-seam fastball – absolutely could not locate it. It’s such a great pitch that you don’t want him to have to abandon it, but it was in the zone just 8 out of the 20 times he threw it yesterday. That’s a problem.

Still, although his outings tend to be short, high-wire acts, Chatwood has gotten results this year so far – his 3.35 ERA is excellent, he’s keeping the ball on the ground, and he’s giving up very little hard contact.
One other thing: Chatwood’s strikeout rate with the Cubs is up nearly four percentage points, so clearly, *some* things they’ve done with him (pitch selection and sequencing likely among them) are working.
Willson Contreras rightly got most of the attention, but Kris Bryant had another huge day at the plate, reaching base five(!) times, and pushing his season line to .302/.434/.612. He’s walking as much as ever, striking out far less than ever, and hitting for way more power. How are these things possible?

In his last 10 games, Kris Bryant is hitting .325/.426/.850. #Superstar pic.twitter.com/huvXnPmiqu

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 12, 2018

April was silly:

#Bryzzo homers in April: 1#Bryzzo homers in May (through just 11 days): 8 pic.twitter.com/RP8G1J81c1

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 11, 2018

Memories are fun sometimes:

"It's the fact that this organization is ready to win now, and that's what attracted me to the San Diego Padres." – James Shields, 2015.

Good time to share this as he gets set to start against the Cubs tomorrow for the rebuilding Sox. pic.twitter.com/T8bJioMzFg

— Andy (@Behind_The_Ivy) May 11, 2018

A beautiful throwback:

Earlier this week, Kris Bryant hit his 100th career homer. #OTD in 1970, Ernie Banks hit #500. pic.twitter.com/bi9z6V59pI

— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) May 12, 2018

Bigger than baseball:

Very classy. Thank you, @Cubs! pic.twitter.com/AGyursloeS

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 11, 2018

Matt Harvey made his Reds debut last night as he stretches back out as a starter and it was surprisingly very good (and he touched 96 mph):

Matt Harvey's rewriting the script in Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/h5LiXXzEqQ

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 12, 2018

Just a bunch of superstars:

New Era releasing hats made out of jerseys of Altuve, Bryant, Judge, Lindor, Seager, Harper, Syndergaard, Trout & Betts. Each hat limited to 90, will retail for $500 each. pic.twitter.com/xmBpm2TstH

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 12, 2018