Imanaga’s Performance and Velo, Hoerner’s Run, Rotation Plans, and Other Cubs Bullets

Brett Taylor

Jun 28, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Me, yesterday: “The Cubs making the playoffs this year is implausible.”

Me, today: ” … but implausible is not impossible!”

My brain is the worst. But I can’t help it. THE CUBS ARE UNDEFEATED IN THE SECOND HALF!

Shōta Imanaga gave up some runs late in his outing yesterday (including a third on a total bs squibber), but overall he looked solid. The velo was back up (he’d said he was dropping it last time intentionally), the command was better, and the contact quality was not outrageous. It helps you feel better about saying that Mets start was a blip.

Speaking of the velo (Tribune): “My pitching mechanics felt good,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “In MLB, you can’t get the hitters out with dropping your output. I learned that last week. Today throwing 93, 94, it’s not an all-out effort, but I made an adjustment with my mechanics where I can still get to there, so I think that was a good learning point.”

Nico Hoerner had another nice game, including his third homer of the season, and just like that he’s fine again: .293/.370/.390/122 wRC+ over his last 10 games. About 10 days ago, I wrote about Hoerner’s struggles since his hamstring injury (no IL stint) and his hand fracture (no IL stint), because the numbers were egregiously bad at the time. I concluded with this: “This could all just wind up statistical noise. We’ve seen it before. Heck, maybe a part of me is hoping that, by calling attention to the slump, the universe will respond by saying, ‘Eff you, Bert, look at what Nico is doing now.’ I’ll take it!” I will indeed take it!

I am glad it didn’t matter, but that play at the plate yesterday … oof:

Just how they drew it up 😅 pic.twitter.com/DaIrMV6fK3
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 27, 2024

If it feels like that has happened a lot this year, it has:

The Cubs with yet another out at home plate, their MLB leading 15th at that base. And it wasn’t even close as Ian Happ tried to score from first on a bloop. Man this team is playing some bad ball.— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 27, 2024

Javier Assad’s forearm injury has apparently been bothering him – feeling like cramping – for the last couple weeks, and he and the Cubs just decided it was time (Tribune): “It’s the worst being injured,” Assad said through an interpreter. “Because you want to go out there and be able to help the team, but you just try to go out there and just get better whenever that does happen.”

You can expect Hayden Wesneski to now slide into Assad’s rotation spot. Hopefully he can limit the home runs, because otherwise, he looks good out there. And when Ben Brown – who has thrown off the mound – is ready to return, we’ll see what the Cubs elect to do. And then from there, when Jordan Wicks – who is only just starting a throwing program – is ready to return, the dance happens again. Assad may very well be back long before Wicks anyway.

On the Vinny Nattoli addition:

Cubs manager Craig Counsell on new reliever Vinny Nittoli, who was recently DFA’d by Oakland: “He’s got a little bit of a unique pitch mix. It’s not velocity. … He’s got to be a pitcher when he’s out there. It’s just depth in the organization. We’ll see how it goes.”— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) June 27, 2024

“Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter,” Counsell went on to say. “Nothing matters. There is no beginning or end, only suffering. Eat at Arby’s.”

Marquee will feature an all-female broadcast on July 7:

Pretty special moment coming for the Cubs and Marquee on July 7, as the broadcast will feature an all-female broadcast. First in Cubs history. pic.twitter.com/zOKJpu9kqd— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 28, 2024

I love three different parts of this so much (with the third simply being the challenge system):

Michael Arias strikes out the side for the save with an assist from Moises Ballesteros. pic.twitter.com/c3ef8uMk8Y
— Brad (@ballskwok) June 28, 2024

Arias is still relatively new to pitching full-time, so the Cubs are probably going to be patient with him (even though he’s on the 40-man roster), and I don’t necessarily expect to see him on the big league team this year unless he really explodes. Longer-term, though, he’s yet another upper-level relief prospect who has back-end-caliber stuff.

Ballesteros, in addition to that catching assist, had two more hits in the game. Naturally.

Basically there is a group of throws – the Cespedes throw, the Vlad throw, the Bo throw, the Ichiro throw, and this one – that all kind of live together in my mind forever:

Is this the greatest throw of all time? pic.twitter.com/voI9A9Kaww
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) June 27, 2024

There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while:

Narciso Crook rips a ball to center to walk it off for the Dogs in the 10th!🔥

📺 https://t.co/ZyIk7dOVpK | 🌭 #NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/lH7go3FJzw— Chicago Dogs (@TheChicagoDogs) June 28, 2024

written by

Brett Taylor

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.

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