Alzolay’s Periodically Dominating Return, Cubs Near Record Player Use, Rivas’s Second Half, Losing a Coach, and Other Cubs Bullets

Ohio State put up a 77 spot on Toledo last night, with five different players logging rushing touchdowns, two different quarterbacks logging passing touchdowns, and the traffic backing up into Columbus for 12 hours. Folks around here sure do love their Buckeyes football. Again: it’s been impossible not to get sucked in over the last 20 years.

  • Like I said yesterday in the EBS, Adbert Alzolay’s long awaited return to the mound went overwhelmingly well for the first inning of work. He looked as good as he’s ever looked for an inning of work:
  • … but when he came out for that second inning of work, with the adrenaline likely having peaked way more than usual in the first inning, he lost his command and about two to three clicks on his fastball. Were the circumstances different, an inning-to-inning change like that might concern you more – this is a guy who we are hoping and expecting can resume his multi-inning duties next year – but it just seems so understandable.
  • AND! It’s not like Alzolay didn’t right the ship as best he could. After the wild walk to C.J. Cron with one out and then the triple to Charlie Blackmon, Alzolay got a nothingburger bit of contact from Elias Diaz (scoring Blackmon with the infield in), and then struck out Michael Toglia and Elehuris Montero to end the inning. Five strikeouts in two innings of work is pretty notable, even if the stuff and command took a step back in that second inning. I’d look for a more stable performance the next time out, even if he isn’t as dominant in the first inning. Mostly, it’s just really good to see him finally back.
  • Interesting pitch-mix note: Alzolay’s primary fastball was his four-seamer, which was his original overwhelming-primary back before he picked up the two-seamer in 2020. But when he returned from his hamstring injury late last year and was working shorter outings out of the bullpen, his primary fastball was once again the four-seamer. Both his fastballs kinda got hammered last year, but at least the four-seamer would get a lot of whiffs.
  • With Alzolay returning yesterday, and Esteban Quiroz making his big league debut, the Cubs have now had 64 different players appear for their team this year. I’m not sure they’re going to make it to the MLB record, though: last year, the Cubs used 69 different players.
  • Not sure it’s been made officially official yet, but I happen to know that Marquee is planning to pick up tonight’s Midwest League Championship Series Game One, with the South Bend Cubs going for a title. The game is scheduled to start at 5pm CT, so heads up.
  • Alfonso Rivas, with two more hits and a walk yesterday, is another guy who is really working hard to keep that 40-man spot this offseason. His overall slash line in the big leagues this year is still a problem for a first baseman (.249/.332/.332/90 wRC+), but it’s actually .290/.360/.355/106 wRC+ since mid-June, which would be a lot more playable when you factor in his excellent glove and ability to come off of the bench and give you a disciplined plate appearance.
  • The rub? That stretch, which is only 139 PAs, comes with a .432 BABIP. The ISO is terrible at .065, and the strikeout rate – especially for a profile like Rivas’s – is also terrible at 30.9%. And if you cherrypick his best stretch, since late July, the slash line goes up to .333/.418/.417/140 wRC+, but the BABIP is a ridiculous .516. Rivas’s line-drive, all-fields approach is always going to lend itself to a higher BABIP than most, but his full season mark of .370 is probably high, and even that isn’t supporting an above-average slash line. Basically, he has to hit for more power and he has to stop striking out at a 30+ % clip if he is going to have any chance of projecting well, even in a complementary role, into the future. I think he can do it, and I think he’s shown enough to stay on the 40-man for now – but next year might be critical for him, especially with Matt Mervis coming on hot. It would be really nice if Rivas could show more ability to play in the outfield in a pinch.
  • Don’t expect to see Willson Contreras anytime soon:
  • Willson still doing right by the fans, though, if you missed his kindness yesterday.
  • The Cubs have lost their minor league head of strength and conditioning and performance science, as Cory Kennedy is heading off to join the Sacramento Kings. A big congrats to him, as it seems like he got a pretty big bump (Director of Performance for the Kings), but potentially a big loss for the Cubs when you think about how things have gone at the minor league level the last few years. A whole lot of performance jumps for players, and I’ve gotta believe a lot of that is tied to physical development. Hopefully the Cubs can land a great replacement.
  • No Kris Bryant in this Rockies series at Wrigley Field, as he continues to recover from plantar fasciitis. It’s been a difficult, injury-filled first year for Bryant with the Rockies, but he took some words of wisdom from former teammate John Lackey about understanding that not every year is going to be productive or healthy:
  • You absolutely do NOT want to know what Jose Quintana has been doing for the Cardinals since the Trade Deadline. Heck, on the whole, split between the Pirates and Cardinals, the former Cubs lefty is putting together what might be the best season of his career at age 33! It’s not like I wish him ill or anything like that. I just didn’t necessarily want to see him pitching so well in the NL Central after being such a high-profile, and impactful disappointment with the Cubs. He wasn’t even terrible. He just wasn’t close to what the Cubs needed him to be.
  • Hey, I get it. Gotta have that coffee:
  • I would not predict the Chicago Bears to beat the Green Bay Packers tonight at Lambeau. Even as I think the Packers have taken a big step back in talent, they still have a considerable edge on the Bears, on paper. I also think last week’s win, while enjoyable as heck, can’t really tell you all that much about the team, about the schemes, or about Justin Fields because of the unique and extreme weather conditions. So I’m kinda gonna be watching tonight with fresh eyes, just hoping to see signs of progress/development/competitiveness. It’s kind of annoying that multiple of my teams are in a phase like this, where I can’t realistically just root for the dang postseason, but so be it.
  • written by

    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.

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