With any Major League Baseball team, no matter how poor their record may be, you are still going to have standout players who consistently produce at a high level.
And so it is with the 2022 Chicago Cubs, the first edition of the team post epic Ricketts Fire Sale. The Cubs weren’t expected to do much this season, and they are indeed matching those expectations, as they sit 23-32, 9.5 games out of first in the NL Central. That said, we’ve still seen a few bright spots.
Looking ahead to tonight’s match-up, against the similarly awful Baltimore Orioles, the bookies, like GGBet, have Chicago as very slight road favorites. The Cubbies can be had on the money line for -115, a small shift from the opening ML, which was Chicago -105, on the road tonight in Charm City.
Basically it’s a push though, or evens, as the Orioles come in with a record of 23-33. The bookmakers have set the total at 8.5, and the smart sports bettors might see taking the over as a smart play right there. ESPN Matchup Prediction forecasts the Cubs with a 59.7% chance of winning, and that’s probably based on who is taking the mound for them.
Keegan Thompson
Tonight’s starting pitcher, he comes in with an ERA of 1.99, a 38-14 K to BB ratio and a 6-0 record. He doesn’t lead the team in Earned Run Average (That’s actually The Professor Kyle Hendricks, despite his number in that category being a very ugly 5.22) only because he hasn’t accrued enough innings to qualify yet.
The only piece deemed untradeable in the Ricketts Fire Sale, he the basis of their non-rebuilding plan. Yes, you read that right, non-rebuilding plan. That said, Contreras is the team’s best overall talent, and most valuable player. He leads the team in OPS, BA, OBP and WAR.
Contreras is also second in home runs and third in hits.
Nico Hoerner
Patrick Wisdom, a hero of the garbage time portion (August onward) of last season, leads the team in home runs and RBI, but his batting average is terrible and his OPS is far from impressive. So we really see Hoerner as the second and final choice in our hitters bright spots given how he’s sporting a .294 BA.
His .400 plus slugging isn’t too bad for a short stop either.
The End of the Bullpen
While the Cubs have a poor offense, and the starting pitching isn’t great, they do get somehow get leads and holds them. And when they do, there is a solid set-up and closer tandem in place.
Scott Effross has six holds, a 11 K/P and a 2.84 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched while David Robertson has seven saves, the team’s best K/9 and a 1.66 ERA in just over 22 IP.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.