At 60-74, the Chicago Cubs are not a playoff contending team. That said, they are quickly becoming one of the most interesting teams in all of Major League Baseball.
President Theo Epstein and his staff have assembled an incredible amount of young talented throughout their organization, and these players are starting to show their stuff at the major league level.
On Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs’ future was on full display as they took down their bitter rivals by a score of 7-2.
Rookie right hander Kyle Hendricks took the mound for the Cubs. While he gave up two first inning runs, Hendricks was able to settle down and shut-out the Cardinals for the rest of his appearance. Hendricks went six strong innings, allowing only those two runs on five hits and a walk.
Hendricks is a guy that gets by on control, movement and deception with his pitches. While his fastball tops out in the low 90s, Hendricks has incredible command that has led to a ton of success early in his big league career. Now through nine big league starts, Hendricks has a 5-1 record with a 1.01 WHIP and 1.91 ERA. He has been fantastic, and will likely be a major piece in the Cubs’ rotation for the foreseeable future.
Luis Valbuena hit a solo homerun for the Cubs in the top of the second inning to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 2-1. Hendricks and Cardinals’ starter Shelby Miller dominated the game after that until the seventh inning when another Cubs’ rookie, Jorge Soler, stepped up to the plate and crushed a homerun to the deepest part of Busch Stadium in centerfield. Soler’s shot tied the game 2-2.
Cardinals’ right handed relief pitcher Pat Neshek entered the 2-2 game in the eighth inning. Neshek came in to the night with a sparkling 0.81 ERA having only allowed five earned runs in 60 relief appearances on the season. Simply put, Neshek is one of the best relief pitchers in the game.
Pinch hitter Logan Watkins led off the eighth inning with a sharp single to right field. Chris Coghlan followed that up with blooper down the right field line that landed just fair, and bounced out of play for a ground rule double. With runners on second and third and no outs, rookie second baseman Javier Baez stepped to the plate.
After fouling off many tough pitches, Baez ripped a hard double in the left-centerfield gap scoring both Watkins and Coghlan to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead. Baez is an extremely high ranked prospect who has a ton of power at the plate. He is an athletic and exciting player who has an impressive amount of upside. He has struggled with contact issues and strikeouts early in his big league career, but Baez is still very young (21) and could quickly become a star.
After the Baez double, Starlin Castro popped up on the infield, and was followed by Valbuena who struck out. With two outs, Soler stepped to the plate and ripped a first pitch fastball to left-field for a towering two run homerun to extend the Cubs’ lead to 6-2.
On the night, Soler went 3-for-3 with the two homeruns, a single and a walk. While it has only been three games, the 22-year-old outfielder is destroying big league pitching thus far. Soler has very advanced plate discipline for a player of his age. On top of that, he has the raw power and athletic ability that could make him a star. Baez and Soler each have seemingly unlimited ceilings.
Neshek’s night ended after the Soler homerun, as Nick Greenwood came in to get Welington Castillo out to end the inning. Neshek gave up four runs in his two thirds of an inning, almost doubling the amount of earned runs he had given up the rest of the season combined. His ERA jumped from 0.81 to 1.45 after facing just six batters. It is safe to say that Neshek did not have his best stuff tonight.
Another rookie, Arismendy Alcantara, led off the top of the ninth with a homerun to straight away centerfield. Alcantara was not as heralded as the likes of Baez and Soler, but he is a very talented player who is having some success in the big leagues this season. Alcantara has incredible position versatility and has a great combination of power and speed. He will be a huge part of this team going forward.
Neil Ramirez picked up the win in relief for the Cubs, he is now 2-1 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 1.05 with a scoreless seventh inning. Pedro Strop and Justin Grimm closed the door as the Cubs went home winners by a score of 7-2.
The two teams will face off in a double header on Saturday, with the first game starting at 1:15 central time. LHP Felix Doubront will make his Cubs’ debut in the first game, while fellow lefty Tsuyoshi Wada and his 2.56 ERA will handle the nightcap for the Cubs. Justin Masterson will oppose Doubront, and the Cardinals have yet to announce their starter for the evening game.