The playoffs start today! Minor league playoffs, that is. The South Bend Cubs open up their postseason series at 6:05pm CT at home against Cedar Rapids. Luis Devers gets the ball in game one, Porter Hodge in game two, and Daniel Palencia in game three, if necessary.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans also open their series at 6:05pm CT tonight, and they’ll head to Charleston. Tonight’s starter has not yet been officially announced.
Go Cubs. Go Pelicans. Get some playoff experience. Get some hardware.
It’s not the first time this season we’ve seen homegrown Cubs pitchers playing key roles in a win, but I still want to highlight that last night we saw an entirely homegrown starting pitcher (an IFA signing, no less!) cruise for six innings in his first quality start, and then an entirely homegrown reliever come in for a multi-inning finish to the game. We went YEARSSSS without seeing that from the Cubs. I’m not going to take it for granted now, even if the Cubs are out of the race. This is enjoyable, and it’s another good sign for the updated player development program.
That starting pitcher, Javier Assad, had his best looking outing of the year, and he’s now appeared in almost as many big league games this season (5) as he did at Triple-A Iowa (8). I mention that because it’s easy to forget that Assad, 25, spent most of this season at Double-A before the rapid bumps up the ladder. That happened because he made huge developmental strikes before this season, and suddenly had back-of-the-rotation potential, before previously being more of a guy who was likely to stall out at Triple-A because of a lack of stuff. It makes me wonder if he could get even better with another offseason of work, now having had the experience of facing more polished batters at BOTH Triple-A and in MLB.
Assad was especially good against lefties last night, thanks to a nasty changeup and him really having the best version of his cutter. Look at what Mets manager Buck Showalter said (Cubs.com):
“As advertised. Really good cutter. That was the pitch for him tonight,” Mets general manager Buck Showalter said. “He commanded that on both sides of the plate. He established both sides of the plate with all his pitches, and that makes it really tough.
“It wasn’t as much something we didn’t do as something he did do. You could tell, he was staying down and working different planes in the strike zone. When you establish, you can throw the ball to both sides — especially the cutter. It was almost like a small slider, it had more depth on it than most cutters do, and that’s unusual. It’s a good pitch. We knew that coming in.”
In other words, last night’s outing had all the more look of a guy the Cubs have to keep on the 40-man roster through the offseason so that you can have him available as depth next year. I suspect part of the reason he was called up in the first place was to evaluate him precisely for this reason. He’s passing the test.
That feels like the kinda outing that solidifies a 40-man decision, imo. Assad probably opens next season as the #7/8 starter or so, hanging in Iowa, waiting for the inevitable injuries. But there’s real value to that, and as we just saw, he can succeed some in the bigs rn.— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) September 13, 2022
Speaking of those 40-man decisions, utility man Zach McKinstry sure is trying to make a run to ensure he keeps his job this offseason. After another big night last night, he’s now over league average since August 9, the end of his 0-fer to start his Cubs career. Not that you don’t count the 0-fer, of course. Anyway, over that past month, McKinstry is now hitting .256/.310/.423/104 wRC+. I would think that if he does that the rest of the way, when you consider his positional versatility and pre-arb status – plus whatever scouting the Cubs liked about him when first acquiring – the Cubs are almost certainly going to keep him on the 40-man and not risk losing him in minor league free agency.
I get that Jeff McNeil just hits. I’m not making fun of the results. I’m just saying, it looks really silly:
But hey, if it works to hit with a tetherball pole instead of a baseball bat, maybe some Cubs should try it.
Marcus Stroman, bobble-head-haver-and-enjoyer:
Shout to the @Cubs for the amazing bobble-head! Thank you to the incredible fanbase for your constant love and support all season! https://t.co/vxDDe5dQUI— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) September 12, 2022
Giants pitcher Zack Littell was clearly pissed at his manager Gabe Kapler for taking him out, but Kapler made sure not to respond in public, and then invited Littell back into the tunnel for a chat:
Zack Littell had some words for Gabe Kapler as he was leaving the mound and the two went down the tunnel to talk about it 👀 pic.twitter.com/SaaBjLP7zt— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 13, 2022
We get to see Jacob deGrom tonight. That’s fun, right?
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.
Meaning no offense to Kyle Hendricks, but if you had to choose a veteran right-handed in the Cubs' rotation to face the Atlanta Braves this week, you're probably going with Jameson Taillon. We may never know if that was part...
There is something about seeing Cubs players homer with pink bats that makes me smile extra wide. I suppose it's PROBABLY at least a little because this is one of my favorite Cubs memories: https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1788291377333170611 Javy Báez, with the pink...
It's Mother's Day. I'm hanging with the family. I don't feel like being as pissed off as a game like that threatened to make me. So I am QUITE relieved by that 10th inning (and the fact that the Cubs...
I'll just presume he was sending this one out for mom. And I'll also presume that the knee is indeed feeling good. Home run number nine on the season for Christopher Morel: https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1789713524052087082
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...
No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers among you, and to the mothers in my life! I'll be doing some extra family stuff today, so I'm gonna cruise through these Bullets ... Up front, because this was certainly the thing most...
The Sunday TBD has been D'd, and it's going to be Kyle Hendricks coming back an outing early. Instead of making another rehab start at Iowa, Hendricks is going to be activated from the IL to rejoin the rotation tomorrow:...
The Cubs came within 90 feet of keeping that ridiculous game going. No dice. Stupid game. Early on, it just kinda seemed like the Cubs might lose a perfectly normal - bad, but normal - game. Justin Steele did not...
CUBS LINEUP — After a little tease yesterday, Seiya Suzuki is actually, officially in the Cubs lineup today. And he'll be greeted with a tough matchup against the top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball. Welcome back! Chicago Cubs Lineup:...
The NBA playoff schedule today, which includes the Boston Celtics squaring off against the Cleveland Cavaliers as one of two matchups, is not one to miss.If you're looking for NBA prop bets for today's games, we're here to assist you....
Meaning no offense to Kyle Hendricks, but if you had to choose a veteran right-handed in the Cubs' rotation to face the Atlanta Braves this week, you're probably going with Jameson Taillon. We may never know if that was part...
Another day, another load of Connor Bedard highlights from the World Championships in Czechia. Remember when the Blackhawks' star rookie scored twice in his first appearance of the tournament and we were all like "whoa that's cool!" Well, he did...
The Chicago Cubs versus the Atlanta Braves is a game to catch on a Monday MLB slate that has 14 thrilling matchups.MLB prop bets for today's games are available, so if you're interested in placing a bet or building a...
The Baltimore Orioles (26-13) and the Toronto Blue Jays (18-22) face off at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Monday at 6:35 PM ET, starting a three-game series.The probable starters are Corbin Burnes (3-2) for the Orioles and Jose Berrios...
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are playing in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, with Game 4 next to come.Last time out, the Celtics bested the Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday. Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 33 points,...
There is something about seeing Cubs players homer with pink bats that makes me smile extra wide. I suppose it's PROBABLY at least a little because this is one of my favorite Cubs memories: https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1788291377333170611 Javy Báez, with the pink...
The Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves take the court in Game 5 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets are favored by 4.5 points in the contest, which airs on TNT at 10:30 PM ET. The...
The New York Knicks are slight 2-point favorites heading into Game 5 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, beginning at 8:00 PM ET on TNT. The series is...
The Dallas Mavericks are slight 1.5-point favorites heading into Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center on Monday, starting at 9:30 PM ET on TNT. The Mavericks hold...
NEWSLETTER
