My little guy, Leo, has been really into trains lately. So when I woke up this morning, I had the bright idea to promise him we’d go see a train. What I didn’t realize is the Metra runs a lot less frequently on Sundays. So after missing not one, but TWO trains by literal minutes, we had to wait a full hour at the station for the next one to come by.
But I gotta say, it was worth it. The conductor blew the whistle as he pulled in, and Leo had a great time. Anyway, that’s why the bullets are so late again today (or maybe I’m just hiding behind a toddler so you don’t get mad at me).
After another solid start last night (5.1 IP, 5H, 0ER, 2BB, 4K), Shota Imanaga is one of just four pitchers without an earned run and more than 10.0 IP on the season. By order of most innings pitched to fewest, here’s that list: Paul Blackburn (19.1 IP, 0ER), Shota Imanaga (15.1 IP, 0ER), Tyler Anderson (14.0 IP, 0ER), and Shane Bieber (12.0). And with Bieber’s surgery, it’s really like Imanaga is one of three active pitchers. It won’t keep up all season long, but man it’s been a great start to his career, especially the 16-2 K/BB ratio. That’s VERY impressive.
Now, with that said, Imanaga is probably not going to sustain a .220 BABIP and 90.9% strand-rate, especially not with a 93.5 MPH average exit velocity (2nd-highest in MLB), 53.7% hardhit% (4th highest) and his extreme fly ball tendencies (56.1% flyball rate, 3rd highest). In fact, those fly balls are pretty darn concerning given how hard people have been hitting the ball. But there’s actually one saving grace here.
When you actually dig in a little further, you’ll find that Imanaga’s 4.9% barrel rate is actually one of the lowest/best-25 in MLB. I think the 27.2-degree launch angle, which is highest in MLB, might actually be what’s saving him. Fly balls and hard contact are never a good combination, but that’s more of a generalization. SO far, Imanaga has managed to stay off the barrels and get more pop-flys than deep and dangerous fly balls. There will be a game some time this summer at Wrigley, where these fly balls are carried out by the wind, but for now, I’m not actually sure it’s as concerning as it seems. And again, when you’re not walking anybody (3.4%) and you’re striking out a lot of batters (27.1%), the damage can be limited.
Also, Brett is out here trolling Dodgers fans:
Was anyone else a little surprised by Yency Almonte’s deployment last night? With an off-day Thursday and only Drew Smyly and Keegan Thompson pitching on Friday, the Cubs bullpen was pretty well-rested heading into last night’s game against the Mariners. But Craig Counsell brought Almonte into a 3-run game with two outs in the bottom of the 7th to face one of the best young hitters in baseball, Julio Rodriguez. Almonte got Rodriguez to strike out swinging and end the inning. Then, Almonte came back out for the 8th and quickly retired the Mariners 3rd and 4th hitters, before being lifted for Hector Neris. I know Julian Merryweather is out, and Mark Leiter Jr. appeared earlier in the game, but still. That was by far the most high-leverage usage of Almonte we’ve seen this season.
And you know what? Almonte passed the test. And when you look back, you’ll see that he’s actually had four really great appearances in a row.
If he keeps this up – and the bullpen remains thin – Craig Counsell is probably going to keep using him in important moments. So fingers crossed that this production and underlying performance is emblematic of where his season is headed.
That said, the bullpen should get at least one trustworthy reinforcement soon, because Jameson Taillon is returning to the Cubs rotation for his next appearance! That means either Ben Brown (more likely) or Javier Assad (possible, but less likely) could join the bullpen. And they’d both immediately be very useful pieces. And when Justin Steele returns, the other could join, too. Soon enough, we might have a bullpen that looks like this: Adbert Alzolay, Hector Neris, Mark Leiter Jr., Yency Almonte, Drew Smyly, Ben Brown, Javier Assad, and Luke Little, with Daniel Palencia and Hayden Wesneski waiting for their chances and Julian Merryweather working his way back, as well. The piece are all there, the injuries have just been really poorly timed.
Don’t look now, but Christopher Morel made ANOTHER two great defensive plays at third base last night. And they’re starting to add up quickly.
His start defensively was about as bad as could have been imagined, but he’s really started to turn my head lately. He needs to get more consistent with the routine play (and throw) for sure, but these quick-twitch moments and flashy plays have been legitimately impressive. Craig Counsell agrees: “That play he made for Shota … that changes the game right there. They may have the lead if that ball gets into the corner, so. That was a huge play. And he made some real nice plays tonight overall. It was definitely a really big defensive game for Christopher.
Speaking of big games, Michael Busch just can’t stop hitting. He had another two hits last night including his fourth homer of the season. Overall, he’s slashing .311/.385/.644 with four homers, three doubles, and 9 RBI. He’s also walking 11.5% of the time and striking out at just 23.1%. And he’s basically one of the best rookies in baseball at the moment. Certainly the best in the NL.
Ian Happ’s on-base streak finally came to an end last night, as he went 0-4 at the plate without a walk. It was a good run. Now start a new one.
NEWSLETTER
