The Chicago Cubs today went out with a win in their final Spring Training game of the year, finishing 15-9-3. But since the Royals beat the Indians, the Cubs fall one game short of winning the Prickly Prize, which is my made up mental trophy that goes to the winner of the Cactus League. FOR SHAME!
If memory serves, great team performance in Spring Training record has never been shown to bear much of a correlation to better odds during the regular season, so the Cubs winning a ton of games doesn’t really matter beyond, “That’s nice.” Individual players might see a SLIGHT bump in the aggregate if they balled out in the spring, so there’s that. But it’s really slight, and it’s not for every player. So tread lightly. (And, again, if I’m remembering the small data available correctly, the reverse was not shown to be true – i.e., that guys who have brutal springs are slightly more likely to underperform expectations. That’d be good news for Kris Bryant and Javy Báez, the only Cubs regulars to have truly terrible spring numbers. As far as expectations go, 2020 makes me more nervous than Spring Training, and even that 2020 season for those two is pretty explainable.)
Speaking of guys who balled out, Zach Davies finished his spring basically perfect. He gave up a solo homer in this one, but otherwise just got in his work and looks completely ready for the season.
Rex Brothers completed his perfect (by ERA) spring with another couple strikeouts. Craig Kimbrel had a solid inning, Andrew Chafin had a clean inning, and Brandon Workman had another scoreless inning. Bullpen kinda looking ready to roll to open the season? Bah, come on, you know better than that. It’ll take some time for guys to really sort themselves out and shake into roles, but I really like the talent the Cubs have gathered in the pen, and they have – for years now – shown they can make it work with a motley crew.
And speaking of relievers who’ll probably mix in and out, Pedro Strop had another great looking inning of work with a couple strikeouts. The Cubs are going to find a time to bring him and Shelby Miller up.
Willson Contreras showed off perfectly how to handle a 3-0 pitch. Pick a very specific spot where you crush the ball, hunt for a fastball there, and if it’s a fastball right there – and only a fastball right there – you unleash the fury:
Leaving camp in style.@WContreras40 pic.twitter.com/eDiBSmKDro
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 29, 2021
Speaking of unleashing fury, I wonder if Nico Hoerner put a little something extra into this:
Nico lifts, 100%. pic.twitter.com/c0CLUnKQIf
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2021
How great would it be to see Joc Pederson succeed against lefties this year with a full chance in a new org:
Joc does damage. pic.twitter.com/VG0PdRTohK
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2021