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***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***

tm3308 said:
I’m under no illusions that this team is a WS contender. But I do think they can be a serious threat to win the central (which may not even take 90 wins to do).
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That is an interesting take considering that currently the top record in the NL and two wild card teams reside in the NL Central.
 
So glad that Justin Steele is under team control through 2027. Guy is looking like a quality top end of the rotation pitcher right now. Glad I was off on my opinion of him when he got knocked around in several of his starts in late 2021 when he first got called up. I wondered back then if he had what it took to be a regular starter in the majors as he had some really rough outings but he's really settled into being a solid #2 starter now. 4-0 now with a 1.19 ERA last year he went 4-7 with a 3.18 ERA could probably still cut down a bit on the walks but these are the kind of guys you need to build around which cost and team controlled starting pitching.

It's why I have hope that Killian with some more work in the minors and Wesneski could be big pieces of the rotation in the near future. Both have taken their lumps in their early going in the majors but you can see the talent and stuff in flashes that if they can work on their command they should be just fine too.
 
VeloClone said:
That is an interesting take considering that currently the top record in the NL and two wild card teams reside in the NL Central.
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I don't buy Pittsburgh at all, and while I think Milwaukee will end up winning the division, their current record is buoyed by that unsustainable 14-5 start. They're 1-4 since and are now on the verge of being swept by the Tigers at home. Woodruff is on the shelf for the foreseeable future and Burnes has struggled. And their offense has been average, at best. They're in the middle tier in almost every under the hood statistic, and in the bottom tier for the ones they're not.

And while I don't buy Pittsburgh as a contender, they aren't outright terrible like they have been for years. And St. Louis might be pushing the envelope for sinking their season in April, they'll start playing better eventually. Point being, the NL Central winner probably won't have a win total that's inflated by feasting on three terrible division rivals all season, which has been the case for several years now.
 
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tm3308 said:
I don't buy Pittsburgh at all, and while I think Milwaukee will end up winning the division, their current record is buoyed by that unsustainable 14-5 start. They're 1-4 since and are now on the verge of being swept by the Tigers at home. Woodruff is on the shelf for the foreseeable future and Burnes has struggled. And their offense has been average, at best. They're in the middle tier in almost every under the hood statistic, and in the bottom tier for the ones they're not.

And while I don't buy Pittsburgh as a contender, they aren't outright terrible like they have been for years. And St. Louis might be pushing the envelope for sinking their season in April, they'll start playing better eventually. Point being, the NL Central winner probably won't have a win total that's inflated by feasting on three terrible division rivals all season, which has been the case for several years now.
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I still see the cardinals even with the start they've had. Their lineup is really good and the glut of outfielders plus relatively strong farm system will let them get a good pitcher or 2. They can't afford to play like this into late May though.
 
Killian maybe getting a big league start this week? Is Caleb Kilian Going to Get a Big League Start This Week? (bleachernation.com) I think the Cubs will come out looking pretty good when all is said and done with the Bryant and Baez trades. They got Canario and Killian for KB and PCA for Baez and both trades looks like the Cubs will get the better end of those. They also got Alcantara in the Rizzo trade who is the #2 prospect in the organization at the moment.
 
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GoHawks said:
I still see the cardinals even with the start they've had. Their lineup is really good and the glut of outfielders plus relatively strong farm system will let them get a good pitcher or 2. They can't afford to play like this into late May though.
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They're already getting near the top of the list for worst starts to eventually make the playoffs. I'm sure they'll start playing better eventually, but they might dig themselves too deep for it to matter beyond making life harder for the rest of the division.
 
Jed on Spiegel's show in Chicago said that Fulmer is out of high leverage situations until he figures it out and Kilian is getting the start on Saturday in Taillon's spot.

Kilian is getting to the point where he's going to have to show something or they're going to move on to Ben Brown getting those opportunities.
 
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tm3308 said:
They're already getting near the top of the list for worst starts to eventually make the playoffs. I'm sure they'll start playing better eventually, but they might dig themselves too deep for it to matter beyond making life harder for the rest of the division.
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I hope your right because as a good Cubs fan despise them. I just think that lineup is too good and it's deep they have guys they can trade to acquire pitching help. Wainwright still hasn't pitched yet this year and you know he'll eat a bunch of innings and be mostly solid. Matz has turned out to be a horrible signing to this point and I'm not sure he's in the rotation much longer. That will be addition by subtraction. If they’re 6 games below .500 at end of May I'll change my opinion
 
GoHawks said:
I can't believe he only cost half a year of Javy
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I think he’s gonna be a stud. I’m sure the Mets are already regretting that trade but I think 5-10 years down the road that trade could be looked at as downright terrible. Similar to Eloy/Cease for Quintana
 
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cyfanatic13 said:
I think he’s gonna be a stud. I’m sure the Mets are already regretting that trade but I think 5-10 years down the road that trade could be looked at as downright terrible. Similar to Eloy/Cease for Quintana
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Mets were so butthurt they wouldn't deal with the Cubs last deadline.
 
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Cyforce said:
Not sure if Bellinger's option is team, player or mutual. But 2024 with Bellinger, Mervis, PCA would be an awesome 1B/CF/ DH trio.
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It's a mutual option for $25M in 2024 ($5M buyout if the Cubs decided to cut him loose, but it certainly looks doubtful that they would want to pull that trigger).
 
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