Impressive Fill-In Guys, Bullpen Health, Roberts, Javy, and Other Cubs Bullets - Bleacher Nation

Impressive Fill-In Guys, Bullpen Health, Roberts, Javy, and Other Cubs Bullets

The Cubs come back home from the Pittsburgh-Atlanta road trip having split it 3-3, and I gotta say, that’s a pretty solid outcome when (1) you’re facing Jones and Skenes, (2) you’re playing three in Atlanta where they’d lost just four times, and (3) everyone on the roster is dead or dying.

  • I kid with the last one, kinda, but the Cubs have placed 15 players on the IL at some point this year, and we’re half-way through May! That is crazy. And if Nico Hoerner’s hamstring doesn’t feel better today, it’s possible he becomes number 16.
  • With both Hoerner and Dansby Swanson out, the Cubs have had to play up the middle infield with Nick Madrigal at second and Miles Mastrobuoni at shortstop. And they have filled in admirably, including a really good game last night. Madrigal got on base four times, Mastrobuoni got on base three times, and if you’d told me in March that the Cubs would win a game in Atlanta that had those two starting up the middle I would say, “wow, baseball is weird, but that’s cool, but when are the other guys coming back?” No, but seriously, some excellent fill-in work for these guys lately.
  • Mastrobuoni also pulled another Swanson:
  • Mastrobuoni has a surprisingly strong arm, and he’s got that backhanded slide thing down. Also, a whole lot of love to Michael Busch on that play, because that’s a pretty crazy pick and tag, all in one motion while going to the ground.
  • (I don’t think I can get away with discussing Mastrobuoni and Madrigal without mentioning their .154/.290/.192/53 wRC+ and .234/.300/.281/73 wRC+ slash lines, respectively. They have become depth players for a reason. But lately, they are doing exactly what is needed, and hey, each has been unlucky per xwOBA!)
  • Javier Assad was amazing last night, and Pete Crow-Armstrong was extremely fun. I didn’t not notice. They’ll get their own discussions soon.
  • Keegan Thompson went on the IL with a viral illness yesterday, and it doesn’t sound great (Sun-Times): “He just hasn’t gotten any better,” Craig Counsell said before the series finale against the Braves. “He’s been in rough shape. He didn’t come to the park [Tuesday]; we sent him home. So he’s really, unfortunately, not improved today. He’s lost a lot of strength here, so it wasn’t going to be tomorrow or the next day.”
  • On the flip side, Daniel Palencia (shoulder) was able to throw a bullpen session, so he could be heading out on a rehab assignment soon.
  • He may or may not reach the big leagues again this year, but Ethan Roberts made his first full-season appearance in two years yesterday. The comeback continues:
  • Much more bullpen talk:
  • It makes me sad:
  • That’s an 18 wRC+ for Javy, and the next closest is a 45 for Andrew Benintendi. Oooof.
  • That got me looking at the “leaderboard” for the worst hitters so far this year, and man, it’s loaded with big names. Corbin Carroll is at a 61 wRC+. George Springer is at 69. Nick Castellanos is at 70. Xander Bogaerts is at 71. Matt Chapman is at 73. Paul Goldschmidt is at 75. Randy Arozarena is at 75. Bo Bichette is at 77.
  • I know that this is just him pitching in a blowout, but if he’s got a knuckleball that actually works, I mean:
  • That last strikeout was Jordan Walker, the uber prospect who was absolutely abysmal for the Cardinals this year and got sent down. His bat not being what was expected (yet) is quite a head-scratcher. He had all the signals and tools you’d want from a huge bat.
  • If you missed the Bears schedule release.
  • Sammy Sosa flashback:
  • written by

    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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