The final day of the regular season is here. The Cubs can finish up 74-88 or 73-89. I wouldn’t say one of those feels appreciably better than the other (I’m a sucker for round numbers, so avoiding 90 losses felt like the “big” one). But your rooting interests might look like this: with a loss, the Cubs have a chance of improving their lottery odds slightly, because they are currently tied with both the Angels and Diamondbacks in the standings. The Cubs have the tiebreaker over the Angels, but not the Diamondbacks (so definitely Go Brewers today … ).
On the other hand, a win today avoids the sweep to close out the season, and maybe it’d be nice to head into the offseason on a win? I don’t think it will matter at this point on anything the Cubs do or don’t do, or any urgency they feel to make moves this offseason. That stuff was all pretty much solidified at the margins bit by bit over the last two months (the “Winning is Good, Actually” period). But I’m sure the players would appreciate going out on a high note. Might make my evening more fun, too. So whatever. Win, lose. It’s all good.
Javier Assad was great last night, going 5.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing just four hits and one walk, while striking out four. He also netted 12 whiffs on his 87 pitches and posted a 30% CSW. Just a good, good outing (yes, against a very bad lineup).
“Javy threw great,” manager David Ross said after the game, per the Sun-Times. “I thought he really had the two-seamer going today, a lot of balls running in on right-handed hitters, throwing some strikes. The breaking stuff wasn’t quite as sharp as it had been, but being able to navigate through the lineup and use the fastball into a lot of those righties, I thought he did a really nice job.” (Are we calling him Javy now? I don’t know if I can do it … )
When Assad was first called up, on the heels of a breakout at Double-A and Triple-A, it was fair to question whether he would stick on the 40-man roster after the season. Long viewed as more of an organizational depth guy with a diverse pitch mix but mediocre stuff, Assad took significant developmental steps forward this year that generated the exceptional results in the minors. The velocity ticked up. The breaking pitches became more swing-and-miss weapons. That earned him the look in the big leagues in advance of what would’ve been minor league free agency for him, but that’s all it was: a look. In that look, he performed well enough to at least stay on the radar – the stats are mixed, yes, but no one is projecting him to be a sure-fire guy: 3.11 ERA (22% better than league average), 4.49 FIP (14% worse than average), 18.1% K, 12.0% BB, 5.2% barrel, 22.4% soft.
In hindsight, the Cubs look like geniuses for going this route with Assad specifically, because now they have 37.2 innings (over 9 big league appearances) worth of video and data to further evaluate him for offseason decision purposes. Now they know, in my view, that he’s worth keeping on the 40-man through the offseason as a depth starter for 2023 and beyond. I suppose it’s possible they see some things that lead them to believe he couldn’t get a 40-man spot elsewhere, and they try to go the waive-and-outright route if they need a spot later in the offseason, but at least the decision would then be much more informed. (I tend to think that doesn’t happen, though. Assad has the look of a very solid 6th/7th starter to me, especially with two more option years remaining).
Oh, and important not to rule out on any of these depth guys like Assad: who’s to say he couldn’t take another development step forward this offseason, like last offseason, and become a guy who stabilizes as a quality back-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues? That potential is there, even if you can’t/shouldn’t count on it as part of your offseason plan.
Watching Javier Assad this year…
“Wait, he’s way better, right?”
“Wow, I think he’s pretty good!”
“Wait, is he gonna be a big leaguer someday now?”
“Should he be in the bigs right now?!?!”
“Should he be in the 2023 plans?!?”
It can’t be overstated how awesome this is.— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) October 5, 2022
Nico Hoerner hit his 10th homer last night, after hitting just three total in his career before this season. As Jordan puts it well, Nico knows where he has to generate his home run power:
I tend to think there’s no chance that actually happens, but it would be kind of funny to see the Sox hiring another former Cubs manager. Rick Renteria did not have a lot of success with a rebuilding White Sox team, and then, just like with the Cubs, he got dumped for a veteran manager as they started to emerge … in that case it was Joe Maddon.
As for a more serious recommendation from Marcus Stroman – he says the White Sox should give Cubs third base coach Willie Harris a look:
Willie Harris needs that manager job next year. Absolute legend who’s well-respected in the game. Perfect man for the position! 🗣🗣🗣 https://t.co/zJVTCILCYT— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) October 4, 2022
Aaron Judge’s 2022 season will forever be remembered for the 62 homers, but Ben Clemens writes about just how good the season is overall on the offensive side, and it’s pretty clearly one of the best handful of seasons in baseball history.
The Savannah Bananas at Iowa?! I might have to make this trip:
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.
It's going to be a really good year for Horror movies. Late Night with the Devil was good (just saw it the other night). And I've got my eyes on Long Legs, Cuckoo, The First Omen, Immaculate, MaXXXine, In a...
A couple injuries to note among other NL Central contenders, as each of the Brewers and Reds have taken a hit to their rotation. The presumption for now is short-term on each, but I suppose we'll see. First, you have...
A very scary scene in Pittsburgh, where Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis, currently on the IL with a shoulder impingement, took a batting practice ball off the neck and went down. Junis was apparently on the ground for a long...
On April 9, I took an early look at Nico Hoerner's apparently evolving approach at the plate, which featured a lot more patience and a lot more big hacks. Effectively, it seemed like he was trying for a little more...
There's been much debate about pitcher arm injuries lately, much of it sparked by Spencer Strider's season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Strider spoke to the media for the first time since the injury on Friday. Spencer Strider on pitcher arm...
A new signing popped up on the Chicago Cubs' transaction log: lefty Mitchell Tyranski. Tyranski, 26, put up a 3.83 ERA over 42.1 innings at High-A last year in the Dodgers organization, striking out 47 and walking 21. Were you...
We already dove deep into Shota Imanaga's latest impressive start against the Marlins yesterday. And there's been no shortage of love for Michael Busch this season either. But I do want to take this time to illustrate just how good...
Even though Sunday ended in a loss for the Chicago Cubs, we did get some good news in the form of positive injury updates. Ian Happ (hamstring) was available off the bench and could be good to go tomorrow, when...
I know that sometimes there is a history between an umpire and a manager. I know that sometimes a manager can subtly get under the skin of an umpire without doing much that we can see or hear. And I...
Let's get caught up on all of the action down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report | April 22, 2024 Triple-A Iowa Cubs (13-8) The Cubs were swept in a doubleheader by the Louisville Bats...
The Philadelphia Eagles hold the 22nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This Philadelphia Eagles 1st round mock draft has them selecting a position of need instead of adding to a strength. With needs on both sides of the ball,...
Only one streak will continue when the Boston Red Sox (13-10) (three-game win streak) and the Cleveland Guardians (16-6) (four-game win streak) meet on Tuesday at 6:10 PM ET. The Red Sox have been set as -112 favorites by bookmakers...
The Washington Nationals (10-11) start a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (13-11) on Tuesday at Nationals Park. First pitch is at 6:45 PM.The Dodgers will look to James Paxton (2-0) against the Nationals and Patrick Corbin (0-3).Dodgers vs....
The Philadelphia Phillies (15-8) have an opportunity to add to their seven-game winning streak as they visit the Cincinnati Reds (12-10) at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday at 6:40 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Phillies...
The Atlanta Braves (15-6) play at home against the Miami Marlins (6-18) on Tuesday. The matchup is set to start at 7:20 PM ET.The Braves will call on Max Fried (1-0) versus the Marlins and Trevor Rogers (0-2).Braves vs. Marlins...
The Milwaukee Brewers (14-7) visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-11). The game at PNC Park begins at 6:40 PM ET on Tuesday.The Brewers will give the nod to Wade Miley (0-1) against the Pirates and Bailey Falter (1-1).Brewers vs. Pirates Pitcher...
The Tampa Bay Rays (12-12) and the Detroit Tigers (13-10) face off in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6:50 PM ET at Tropicana Field.The probable starters are Ryan Pepiot (2-2) for the Rays and Kenta Maeda (0-1)...
The New York Yankees (15-8) face the Oakland Athletics (9-14) at home at 7:05 PM ET on Tuesday.The Yankees will give the nod to Marcus Stroman (1-1, 2.42 ERA), who is eyeing win No. 2 on the season, and the...
12 hours later and I'm still scrolling the internet watching replays of Jordan Martinook's game-winner for the Hurricanes last night. The Hurricanes and Islanders game was just another example of why the Stanley Cup Playoffs are so damn awesome. In...
According to the International Center for Responsible Gaming, around 1% of the population in the United States has a severe gambling problem. Young people and young adults make up 6-9% of that number. With the legalization of sports betting in...
NEWSLETTER
