Yesterday may have been the Cubs first game of the spring, but today will be the first TELEVISED game of the spring, and I am fully stoked. The undefeated Cubs are squaring up against an undefeated Royals team at Sloan Park and Adbert Alzolay is taking the mound for his first competitive action of the spring
Random note: Remember, these games are just 7.0 innings long, unless otherwise specified.
We got into the lineup earlier today already, so for now, I want to focus on Alzolay, who could/should be a big part of the Cubs rotation in 2021. But determining his exact role right now is a little difficult. On the one hand, the Cubs will *absolutely* want to give Alzolay his shot, given his upside and long-term control in Chicago, but if everyone were to find themselves healthy and ready to go when Opening Day rolls around, you could see how the Cubs would prefer to start Alzolay out in Iowa, while rolling with a big league rotation of Kyle Hendricks – Zach Davies – Jake Arrieta – Trevor Williams – Alec Mills to start the year.
But there’s another but: Alzolay may or may not have an option left (that’s still TBD because of the shortened 2020 season). If he does, and everyone’s healthy, you don’t really worry about him becoming the *sixth* starter this season, because there just will be plenty of innings to go around. That’s generally true normally, but especially so with *this* rotation and after the shortened 2020 season. Even Alzolay ultimately does not have an option year remaining, these things have a way of working themselves out, but it will be an important story to follow.
When you shift your focus to 2022 and beyond, you know the Cubs would love each of Hendricks, Alzolay, and Mills to really grab hold of rotation spots this season, as each is affordably controlled beyond 2021. And this is way off-topic, but remember, Zach Davies is pretty darn good and still just 28 years old. Ideally, he kills it this year *and* falls in love with the Cubs. If all that works out, the Cubs could have themselves the bones of a pretty solid rotation for the future.
Game Info
San Diego Padres (2-0) at Chicago Cubs (2-0) – Tuesday, March 2nd, at 2:10 CT on Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network
Starting Pitchers
Royals: Jakob Junis (R)
versus
Cubs: Adbert Alzolay (R)
Chicago Cubs (Discussion Here):
1. Ian Happ, DH
2. Nico Hoerner, 2B
3. Jason Heyward, RF
4. Kris Bryant, 3B
5. Austin Romine, C
6. Nick Martini, LF
7. Patrick Wisdom, 1B
8. Rafael Ortega, CF
9. Ildemaro Vargas, SS
Kansas City Royals:
1. Whit Merrified, RF
2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
3. Salvador Perez, C
4. Ryan O’Hearn, 1B
5. Hunter Dozier, 3B
6. Seuly Matias, DH
7. Hanser Alberto, 2B
8. Bubba Starling, CF
9. Lucius Fox, SS