Staying East: Cubs vs Mets Series Preview

Cubs vs Mets — The Cubs are starting a fresh four-game series tonight in New York against the Mets. And, of course, they’ll do it without Justin Steele, Jordan Wicks, Kyle Hendricks, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, or Julian Merryweather.

A few of those guys are working their way back already and could return sooner than expected (Steele, Bellinger, Suzuki), but we’re still at least a week away from seeing any of them in action at the big league level.

The Cubs are fortunate, however, to have THREE depth starters pitching well enough right now (Hayden Wesneski, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown), plus two veterans seemingly off to good starts (Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga).

Imanaga is actually coming off the longest big league start of his career (6.1 IP), and has delivered quality starts in three of five games so far. And while Taillon, who’s throwing tonight, is only two starts into his season, they’ve both been good (combined): 10.2 IP, 10H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K.

The Mets are a slightly above-average offense overall this year, but have been hitting lefties especially well: .258/.321/.422 (113 wRC+). So let’s hope Imanaga remains locked in. He’s the only lefty starter they’ll get.

Offensively, the Cubs aren’t fully locked in right now, though that’s what happens when you’re missing arguably your two most important hitters. But there are some bright spots.

Mike Tauchman, for example, has been playing out of his mind since the end of the Diamondbacks series, slashing .400/.500/.743 (241 wRC+) over his last 11 games.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, for another, is starting to figure things out and currently has a four-game hitting streak, including a double and a homer.

Nico Hoerner has cooled off a bit, but is still turning in good plate appearances and hitting .282/.359/.369 (110 wRC+) overall.

On the flip side, the last two weeks have not been kind to Dansby Swanson (68 wRC+), Michael Busch (68 wRC+), or Christopher Morel (53 wRC+). And Ian Happ (87 wRC+) is not really contributing either.

I will say, however, that it’s starting to feel like Morel and Swanson are trending in the right direction. I’ve just liked the look of some of their at-bats over the last couple of games. Swanson, in particular, was robbed of extra bases last night on a ball in play that would’ve left 28/30 ballparks.

As for the Mets starters, I’m not overly concerned. Luis Severino (starting tonight) has been very good this season. But Sean Manaea (43.8 hard%, 13.1 BB%) and José Buttó (50 hard%, 13.3 BB%) have red flags next to seemingly good ERAs. And Adrian Houser has allowed 22 earned runs with more walks (16) than strikeouts (14) in 23.2 IP.

The Cubs offense is beat up, but after tonight, those are some very beatable starting pitchers.

Cubs vs Mets – Pitching Probables:

Game 1: Monday, April 29 at 6:10 CT at Citi Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score

Cubs: Jameson Taillon, RHP

Mets: Luis Severino, RHP

Game 2: Tuesday, April 30 at 6:10 CT at Citi Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score

Cubs: Javier Assad, RHP

Mets: Sean Manaea, LHP

Game 3: Wednesday, May 1 at 6:10 CT at Citi Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score

Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP

Mets: José Buttó, RHP

Game 4: Thursday, May 2 at 12:10 CT at Citi Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score

Cubs: Ben Brown, RHP

Mets: Adrian Houser, RHP

Cubs vs Mets – Key Injuries:

Chicago Cubs:

Seiya Suzuki, OF

Cody Bellinger, OF

Justin Steele, SP

Kyle Hendricks, SP

Drew Smyly, RP

Jordan Wicks, LHP

Julian Merryweather, RP

Caleb Kilian, SP

New York Mets:

Francisco Alvarez, C

Tylor Megill, SP

Brooks Raley, RP

David Peterson, SP

Ronny Mauricio, IF

Kodai Senga, SP