As always when this kind of thing happens, good for Jason Heyward, he seems like a good guy, did the Cubs mess him up like they failed to develop so many other good young hitters, maybe they did, oof oof oof see this is why we can’t talk about Jason Heyward.
Next, how about Codi Heuer, with a magnificent two innings of work, including one with the California Tiebreak in effect? Heuer’s now up to 1.0 fWAR on the year, which is pretty good for a relief pitcher.
Ian Happ demolished a baseball, sliding him up to a 98 wRC+. So close to average. I wonder if he knows. I wonder how many players know about wRC+.
And then, of course, Alec Mills, whom Joey Votto ripped but nobody else could get to. Mills is up across 100 innings now, and this was his 16th start. Since moving into the rotation full-time in June, he’s got a 3.72 FIP over 77.2 innings of work, and he’s walked just one batter per outing.
Since exiting that brutal post-deadline losing streak on August 17th in Cincinnati, the Cubs are 13-7, and while they’ve played a ridiculously easy schedule, they’ve also played the Reds enough to be 5-3 over the stretch against teams within a game of a playoff spot. Their 102 wRC+ over the stretch is ninth-best in baseball. Their 4.76 FIP over the stretch is only eighth-worst in baseball. Their bullpen’s 3.58 FIP over the stretch is seventh-best in baseball.
These Cubs have numerous, obvious holes, and again, they’ve been playing a lot of games against teams like themselves. But they’ve also been playing decently well, and pieces have been identified that could help significantly in making a playoff push in 2023, if not next year.
It’s not the worst place to be, and there’s little dead weight on the roster.
***
The Diaspora:
Yu Darvish had a good outing for the Padres, striking out seven and only walking one. The Padres are back in playoff position, for anyone wondering, and they’re set to play a lot of meaningful baseball these next few weeks against the Dodgers and the Giants.
Andrew Chafin worked two scoreless for the A’s to close things out.
Around the Division:
The Reds are a game back of the Padres, two back in the loss column. The Cardinals are three and a half back of the Pads, but only three back in the loss column. St. Louis tries to manage a split against the visiting Dodgers in a midday game today.
Up Next:
A day off today, then three against the Giants at Wrigley.
Cubs News:
Nick Martini has been added back to the 40-man roster, which had an opening. He takes Michael Hermosillo’s spot on the active roster. Hermosillo sounds to be done for the year with the forearm thing.
We’ll see what this means for Hermosillo going forward, but I have a hard time thinking he’ll be a guy the Cubs keep around. He can’t go back to the minors, and there are only so many spots on the 40-man. He has upside, but it’s not the same as, say, Brailyn Márquez’s upside, and while that’s not the exact comparison that will have to be made, it sums it up well: Hermosillo has upside but it’s limited, and he’s a bit older. He’s a candidate for The Max Muncy Thing™ but that’s a rare, rare thing to see, and part of playing that lottery, as the Cubs are doing, is that you have to buy a lot of tickets to have a good chance of hitting on one. Right now, Frank Schwindel and Patrick Wisdom are better tickets than Hermosillo. Rafael Ortega is probably a better ticket than Hermosillo. Christopher Morel, who also hit a walk-off home run last night, is too good a prospect to get the boot in favor of Hermosillo. So much could still happen, but it feels like Hermosillo will be somewhere else on Opening Day next year, unless no other teams can find space on their 40-man rosters for him.
Cubs Thoughts:
If the Cubs win every series the rest of the way and only sweep the two-game one against the Twins, they’ll finish 80-82. Will they do that? Oh I would be shocked. But you could make a case that .500 is in reach. You’d just need someone eager to believe that on the listening end.
