en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Chicago Cubs News https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/news There's at least one thing the Cubs will be elite at this season. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:06:17 GMT Matt Sullivan https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029451 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029451 false false Kicking off these prospect notes with a congrats to the Knoxville Smokies, who have won the first half North Division in the Southern League, which means they – just as the South Bend Cubs did – have already locked up a playoff spot: Knoxville, we're PLAYOFF BOUND!! 💯 — Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) Turn the volume up! This is what clinching sounds like. 🏆🍾 — Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) Very cool, and very fun. Of course, the question for the Smokies is whether some of their most impactful current players will still be at the Double-A level come playoff time. My guess is, by September, Owen Ayers will have long been bumped. Maybe Jefferson Rojas and Andy Garriola, too. Pitchers like Brooks Caple, Jace Beck, Marino Santy, Dawson Netz, Grant Kipp, and more will be getting Triple-A consideration at some point. The question is whether some reinforces come back from rehabbing long-term injuries, and whether some other very good and interesting prospects – Kane Kepley? Josiah Hartshorn? Mason McGwire? Jackson Brockett? – get the bump up from High-A before then. Elsewhere are the Cubs farm … After missing some time with an unspecified injury, Will Sanders has been back at Triple-A Iowa for two starts, totaling 10 innings, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, and 14 K. The profile there is probably not higher than a 4 or a 5 in the big leagues thanks to a below-average fastball, but he has a great splitter and a varied pitch mix that he uses without leaning much on the fastball (a lot like Edward Cabrera and Javier Assad, in that respect). The 24-year-old former 4th rounder is Rule 5 Draft eligible after this season, so (1) it’s a big year for him, and (2) the Cubs don’t have to hesitate about calling him up for a spot start if needed, since he may well have to go on the 40-man roster eventually anyway. We’re still a ways away from those kinds of decisions, to be fair, but I like what I’m seeing. It’s gonna be really, really hard to keep these two at Low-A Myrtle Beach much longer: For the THIRD day in a row! Logan Poteet goes yard to put the Birds up 1-0! — Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) An absolute no doubter! 🤯 Michael Carico extends the lead with a two run long bomb! — Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) Their numbers are silly any way you slice them, but I’ll slice them like this for fun – since May 27: Michael Carico is hitting .250/.489/.500/176 wRC+/32.2% BB/24.4% K, Logan Poteet is hitting .378/.465/.811/229 wRC+/14.0% BB/31.4% K. Now, I included the K and BB numbers in there because, for each guy, they do flash something of a potential warning sign (in Poteet’s case, it’s obviously a K rate that is WAY too high; in Carico’s case, it’s an obscene walk rate at a low level which makes you wonder if he’s just too disciplined to face young pitchers without any command). Carico, 23, is a year older than Poteet and is seemingly more of a bat-only guy than a catcher anymore, so you’d expect him to get the bump sooner. As for the overall numbers on them: Michael Carico (158 wRC+) and Logan Poteet (153 wRC+) now have the 2nd and 4th highest wRC+’s within the system. They’re also 2nd and 3rd highest amongst active hitters in Low-A. — Northside Soundtrack (@CHC_DataDrive) Yet another catcher at Myrtle Beach: happy 20th birthday to Henniel Alcala, who has played only 105 games total so far in his pro career, spanning the DSL to the ACL to Low-A. I won’t even pretend to be familiar enough with him yet to comment intelligently, only to say that reaching Low-A as a catcher in the season you turn 20 is good work. It’s never a bad time for Josiah Hartshorn content: Josiah Hartshorn is a rocket ship. Let’s take a look at his advanced minor league data to prove this success is sustainable. And a lofty swing comp … 👀 Road to Wrigley starts in 5 minutes on with ! — Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) You know Josiah Hartshorn’s season has been bonkers when you have to REALLY STRETCH to say he’s currently in a “six-game” slump – .105/.240/.263/28 wRC+. Especially when the second half of that six-game stretch, he’s actually been above-average at the plate. So, basically, it was three bad games. Been a rough year at Triple-A for one of last year’s big minor league bats, Jonathon Long, who is hitting just .264/.341/.392/88 wRC+. His walk rate is way down, his strikeout rate is up, and he’s going oppo way more often than last year (without any kind of production bump to justify it). I wonder if there was an effort to get more loft into his line-drive-oriented swing – he has tons of power available if he can unlock it, and it might be required for him to actually be a big leaguer – and it hasn’t worked. Hard to say (I also wonder about that elbow injury in Spring Training). He’s been above-average overall at the plate since May 27, though (what’s with that particular cutoff?), and has raked the last 10 days. It’d probably take a really substantial pop from here for the Cubs to be assured that he MUST be added to the 40-man r... Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:54:10 GMT Brett Taylor https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029326 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029326 false false CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs were spared a start against Dylan Cease yesterday, while also getting the benefit of some additional rest for a (down bad) bullpen. Now, they turn their attention to the Mets in the first of four games at Citi Field. Shota Imanaga, originally slated to start yesterday, is starting tonight. He’ll go up against Kodai Senga with the following Cubs lineup behind him. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF Alex Bregman, 3B Michael Busch, 1B Seiya Suzuki, DH Ian Happ, LF Matt Shaw, RF Nico Hoerner, 2B Carson Kelly, C Dansby Swanson, SS Kodai Senga is split neutral for his career and a reverse split guy in a limited sample this season. So perhaps because of that and the fact that Nico Hoerner has been struggling offensively of late, the Cubs second baseman is batting seventh against a lefty. Pretty atypical. Hoerner did homer off Senga earlier this year, for what it’s worth! Other than that, it’s pretty much all the usual suspects at all the usual spots, including batting sixth. New York Mets Lineup: Carson Benge, RF Bo Bichette, 3B Juan Soto, LF Marcus Semien, 2B Mark Vientos, 1B Eric Wagaman, DH Francisco Alvarez, C AJ Ewing, CF Zack Short, SS Pitching Matchup: Chicago Cubs: I do not think we can say, with any certainty, that Shota Imanaga is out of the woods of his brutal, BRUTAL stretch from May 18 – June 4. During those four starts and 21.2 IP, Imanaga allowed 26(!) earned runs with a ridiculous 12 home runs allowed. However, he has thrown two solid games since. And, sure, both were against a weak Rockies squad, but that included one game at the hitter-friendly Coors Field followed by one game at Wrigley with the wind blowing out. And, more importantly, he didn’t give up a SINGLE homer in either game, while striking out 10. Point here being, I’m modestly optimistic that he got over the hump, even if we definitely don’t know that for sure yet. The good news is that the Blue Jays are also quite bad versus left-handed pitching so far this season (83 wRC+, 4th worst in MLB). Good game for him to build on. New York Mets: Kodai Senga spent much of this season on the Injured List (back inflammation), but when he was out there, he wasn’t really succeeding: 9.00 ERA through six starts (24.0 IP). And one of those starts came against these very Chicago Cubs back on April 17. That day, Senga lasted just 3.1 IP with 7 runs (6 earned) on six hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. Two Cubs homered off Senga in that one, including Moises Ballesteros and Nico Hoerner. Ballesteros is back at Triple-A Iowa now, but Hoerner is in the Cubs lineup. He is, however, batting lower than he does against most lefties, perhaps because he’s been struggling so much lately. With that said, Senga has been pretty split-neutral (if not flipped) for his career, with lefties hitting him better than righties in a very limited sample size this season. So maybe that factored in, as well. Kodai Senga’s latest start (his only since returning from the IL): 4.0 IP, 2H, 4ER, 4BB, 5K (2 HRs). Broadcast Info: First Pitch: 6:10 pm CT How to Watch Today’s Cubs Game: MARQ How to Listen to Today’s Cubs Game: 104.3 The Score Matchup: Cubs vs Mets – Key Injuries: INJURY REPORT Cubs vs. Mets · entering June 22 CHICAGO CUBS Matthew Boyd Knee surgery (meniscectomy) · 15-Day IL SP Jameson Taillon Strained hamstring · 15-Day IL SP Daniel Palencia Elbow inflammation · 15-Day IL RP 60-DAY IL Justin Steele Elbow surgery (UCL revision repair) SP Shelby Miller Tommy John surgery RP Tyler Austin Knee surgery (patella debridement) 1B/OF Hunter Harvey Triceps inflammation RP Cade Horton Tommy John surgery SP Porter Hodge Tommy John surgery RP Riley Martin Strained elbow (flexor) RP NEW YORK METS Francisco Lindor Strained calf · 10-Day IL SS Ronny Mauricio Fractured thumb (left) · 10-Day IL INF Tyrone Taylor Strained hip flexor · 10-Day IL OF Christian Scott Hip impingement · 15-Day IL SP 60-DAY IL Dedniel Núñez Tommy John surgery RP Tylor Megill Tommy John surgery SP Reed Garrett Tommy John surgery RP Justin Hagenman Fractured rib RP Jorge Polanco Wrist contusion 1B Luis Robert Jr. Lumbar spine disc herniation OF Clay Holmes Fractured leg (fibula) SP Cubs & Mets via team rosters · entering June 22 Cubs vs Mets – Citi Field Location: New York City, NY Temperature: 70 degrees (Rain is an issue) Wind: Blowing right to left, 14 MPH Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:54:04 GMT Michael Cerami https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029325 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029325 false false The forecast for Queens tonight is pretty ominous, with a 95% chance of thunderstorms in the 5pm hour becoming an 83% chance of heavy thunderstorms at 6pm. Then there’s a break before more storms roll in throughout the late evening and early morning. As such, it sure looks like the Cubs could see their second … The post appeared first on . Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:50:14 GMT Evan Altman https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029287 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57029287 false false I already said my peace last time when the first round of MLB All-Star Game fan balloting came out. I’m not mad about it, but the whole enterprise is much more about fan enthusiasm than an actual evaluation of player performance. Pete Crow-Armstrong is among the three or four best players in all of baseball so far this year, yet he is FOURTEENTH in All-Star voting … in the National League … in the outfield. There are THIRTY-FOUR TOTAL PLAYERS IN THE NL with more votes than PCA. I mean, he’s getting smoked by Mauricio Dubon. How seriously do you really want me to take this? Anyway, here are the votes. No Cubs are remotely close to being voted in by the fans, and no push from the team will change that by the time voting ends. The Cubs will get their rep(s) by way of managerial selection and injury replacements. Obviously PCA will be one of them. Ben Brown increasingly has a legit shot, too, but that might wind up it for the Cubs. (via MLB) Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:50:45 GMT Brett Taylor https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028592 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028592 false false Another ramp-up is right in front of the lefty, who hasn't pitched in a game in over 14 months. If Steele is going to help this Cubs team find its groove later in the summer, it’s now or never. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:48:04 GMT Steve Greenberg https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028555 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028555 false false Trey Yesavage and Kazuma Okamoto were among Toronto players taking part in rookie tradition during series with Cubs. Read more. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:44:18 GMT Dan Bilicki https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028500 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028500 false false All right, no more setbacks. The Chicago Cubs have been one of the unluckiest teams when it comes to pitching injuries in MLB this season, and that includes Justin Steele suffering a setback back in April. The left-handed starter had elbow surgery in April 2025 and was hopeful of returning by early June, but a […] Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:22:04 GMT Aldo Soto https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028231 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028231 false false Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:18:30 GMT Cubs Baseball Channel https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028177 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028177 false false Matthew Boyd was one of the most impactful free agency signings of the 2024-25 offseason, acting as the workhorse pitcher the Chicago Cubs needed in order to end a four-year playoff drought. He logged 179 2/3 innings in 31 starts, offering productivity and stability for a large chunk of the campaign. The left-handed starter has […] The post appeared first on . Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:07:42 GMT Alex House https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028056 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57028056 false false This update just makes zero sense for PCA. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:59:51 GMT Matt Sullivan https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027969 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027969 false false Given his unbelievable June, on the heels of what was quietly excellent performance at the plate going back to mid-April, it’s been unsurprising to see all manner of “holy crap did you see this about Pete Crow-Armstrong.” Two of the best I’ve seen run the gamut from the highly specific to the more generalized: There have been over 5 million total 18-game spans by players in MLB's modern era. In none of them did a player have as many hits, doubles, triples, homers & steals as the ' Pete Crow-Armstrong over his last 18 games: 34 hits 5 doubles 2 triples 9 home runs 6 stolen bases — OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) PCA is basically No. 1. — Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) Pete Crow-Armstrong is playing like a stud, any way you slice it. I won’t quibble with anyone’s preferred eye-popping way to quantify that fact. For me, though, the contextualization that made my eyes pop the most when thinking about just how good PCA has been was this one: Through 77 games… 2016 Kris Bryant: .279/.371/.571 — 147 wRC+ 23 HR | 61 RBI | 3 SB | 4 FRV | 3.7 fWAR 2026 Pete Crow-Armstrong .286/.363/.521 — 146 wRC+ 16 HR | 40 RBI | 18 SB | 16 FRV | 4.6 fWAR — Carson Wolf (@TheWrigleyWire) Back then, Kris Bryant was a 24-year-old bat-first young superstar coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign in 2015, and well on his way to winning MVP honors in 2016. What he was doing offensively was something to behold, and warranted best-in-the-league consideration. … and PCA has been matching it. At the plate. Just the offense. He has been a peak-Kris-Bryant-caliber bat. A guy whose glove is one of the most impactful in all of baseball is currently hitting as well as one of the best offensive Cubs seasons in recent memory. Now THAT is how you contextualize just how good PCA has been. Sure, you can and should now point out that Bryant carried that level of offensive performance through the rest of the season, and, although we have seen fiery streaks from PCA before, he has yet to put it together over a full six months in a single season. Fair enough. Maybe Pete Crow-Armstrong will fall off a good bit at the plate from here, as he did last year. No one should promise he won’t, even as there is SO FREAKING MUCH to like about his current plate approach, his swing, and his contact quality. But that’s all beside the point as we sit here today on June 22. The point is that, what we’ve seen so far this season from PCA is just about the same as what we saw from a same-aged Kris Bryant in his MVP season, when his bat was something we dreamed on for miles. With PCA, it hasn’t even always been the bat that left us dreaming, because his defense is so incredible, and he adds value on the bases, too. If his bat at its peak matched Bryant’s bat at his peak? Good gravy, the overall value is going to be through the roof. Heck, in that 2016 season, Bryant wound up worth a whopping 7.5 WAR. If PCA keeps doing this? He might reach double-digits. One more bonus bit while we’re here: Since June 1, Jac Caglianone (1.210 OPS, 228 wRC+) is behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani in OPS and wRC+. — nugget chef (@jayhaykid) You know what I like about that one? The fact that PCA is mentioned only casually as being right there with Shohei Ohtani as one of the best bats in baseball at the moment. Like, “ yeah yeah yeah, PCA has even bigger numbers since June 1, but Jac has also been pretty good!” That’s when you know a guy is REALLY hot. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:50:18 GMT Brett Taylor https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027868 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027868 false false As a whole, Matt Shaw’s big league offensive performance has been largely underwhelming. His brutal first half last year was followed by a poor-peripheral mirage in the second half … which snowballed right into another slow start here in 2026. Then, six weeks into the season, Shaw hurt his back and hit the Injured List. Obviously, he had already been cut out of some playing time at third base (because of Alex Bregman) and right field (indirectly because of Moises Ballesteros), but it was a disappointing development nonetheless. This was a guy for whom we had very high expectations. And why wouldn’t we? It’s easy to forget, but Shaw was very recently one of the top prospects in MLB. He was a guy the Cubs, at one point, had cleared the deck for, trading away the third basemen both ahead (Isaac Paredes) and behind him (Cam Smith) in the organization. He also hit at every single stop his way up the ladder: High-A (2023): 198 wRC+ Double-A (2023): 119 wRC+ Double-A (2024): 147 wRC+ Triple-A (2024): 136 wRC+) And at each of those stops, he had high walk rates, low strikeout rates, and plenty of power. All while being young for each level. Just a great, all-around prospect who was a borderline top-25 guy in baseball. But when he got up to the big leagues, he struggled with one thing in particular: Making hard contact. In 2025, Shaw posted an 84.9 MPH average exit velocity, a 6.9% barrel rate, and a 29.4% hard-hit rate. Among all 215 batters with at least 400 plate appearances last season, those marks ranked 5th worst, 66th worst, and 15th worst. But why was he unable to make hard contact? Seems odd for a guy who, presumably, did plenty of damage to the baseballs hucked his way in the minors. Well, one easy explanation is something we’ve discussed plenty over his big league tenure: he is a little too good at making contact. And when you can make contact on bad pitchers – and choose to do so – you often end up with weaker-than-desired contact. But a new explanation has been brought to my attention via Carson Wolf (), and I really think he’s onto something. Even better, it’s starting to turn on a dime for the better! Last season, Matt Shaw’s bat speed was just 69.6 MPH (38th worst in MLB). And while that is not, in isolation, a bad thing (plenty of guys succeed with lower bat speeds), it does seem to be a particularly big problem for anyone who’s biggest flaw is not making enough quality contact. But get this. At the start of this season, before his injury, Shaw’s bat speed had dropped even lower: 68.2 MPH and his fast swing rate (the percentage of swings which registered over 75 MPH) dropped to 4.4%. Together, those dragged his barrel rate down with him (5.1%). But since returning from his injury, Shaw’s bat speed and fast swing rate have EXPLODED: 71.2 MPH Bat speed (+3 MPH) 19.4% Fast-swing (+15% points!) With that, his average exit velocity has increased from a below-average 86.4 MPH to a just barely above-average 89.0 MPH. And his hard-hit rate did the same thing (well below average to just about league average). The barrel rate ticked up only a little bit, but I do think this is the start of something promising given his particular deficiencies. Now, it’s not all good news. Because if nothing else had changed besides his swing speeds and exit velos, we’d expect to see an even higher jump in barrel rate. But so far, Shaw has been hitting a few too many groundballs in this small post-injury sample. But I do think we could be witnessing the seeds of a very real and meaningful development for a guy who has always hit as a pro until last season. I think Shaw is far from a finished product — and this latter sample is tiny, I’m not trying to hide that fact — but I’m really curious to see if these improved bat speeds will continue to translate into better production. And finally, I will add that I think Shaw has earned a bit of patience to work through this, seeing as (until recently) he was playing very sporadically and at many different positions. But for the time being, while Ballesteros is at Triple-A, I think he’s going to get a nice long run in right field with Suzuki at DH. And if he uses this time to dial in his approach, he could find himself there for a very long time with the Cubs. Remember, he’s only 24 years old and is in just the second big league season of his career. And it’s not exactly surprising that a back injury may have hurt his swing speeds earlier this season. There’s a lot of talent there. He just needs to unlock it. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:50:14 GMT Michael Cerami https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027866 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027866 false false On today's episode of The Stretch, we begin the show with some heat from Barstool Chief after the Blackhawks lose out on trading for Brady Tkachuk. We then g... Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:50:11 GMT Barstool Chicago https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027863 https://sportspyder.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/articles/57027863 false false