The Chicago Cubs lost to the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday in Cactus League play 6-3. Today they faced off in the Cactus League Finale against one another again and again the Cardinals won 7-2. The Chicago Cubs will now move their focus over to the regular season where they face off against the Texas Rangers on Thursday as they open the season. Before the season starts here are a few things from Spring training about the team.
Talent in the Minors
This Spring the Cubs showcased their youth talent in the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcantara, Michael Busch, Owen Cassie, and Ben Brown. The Cubs have a lot of talent in the minors and the most talked about star this spring was Outfielder Owen Cassie he was fantastic all spring. He played in 16 games with 39 at-bats, scored nine runs, three doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs, five walks, two steals, 11 strikeouts, and slashed .333/.409/.564 with a .973 OPS in those games. While Cassie is impressive and shouldn’t spend too much more time down at Triple-A Iowa, another young Cub impressed me more.
RHP – Ben Brown
The six-foot-six right-hander weighs in at 210 pounds and throws the ball hard. This spring he allowed one run over 10 innings with one win, walked four, and struck out nine this spring. His 0.90 ERA and 1.20 WHIP were impressive to me. Brown may not be ready to contribute to the big league club this season, but his power right arm might just be what this rotation needs in the upcoming years as James Taillon’s replacement in the rotation. Brown is starting the year with Iowa at Triple-A where he pitched last season. Last year he made 15 starts for Iowa going 6-8 in 72.2 innings of work. He made 22 appearances total with 100 strikeouts, 51 walks, 1.12 WHIP, and a 5.33 ERA. If he can head to Iowa and continue to pitch as he did in the Cactus League we might see Brown sooner than most would think.
MVP Candidate for NL is on this Roster
A lot of people might not realize it, but Seiya Suzuki was smoking hot this spring in Cactus League play. Most regular fans would assume Cody Bellinger would be the name tossed out when MVP is mentioned due to his great bounce-back year last year. As good as Cody was last year, I think we all see the best season yet for Seiya and he will be definitely in the running as a dark horse for the MVP in the National League. This spring Suzuki played in 15 games, in 37 at-bats he had, 13 runs scored, five doubles, six home runs, 12 RBIs, three walks, six strikeouts, two stolen bases, and slashed .459/.512/.1081 with a 1.593 OPS. Let the league sleep on the Right Fielder, but his true breakout season will be 2024 and it starts tomorrow at Globe Life Field against the Rangers.
Summary
The present is bright for the Cubs with the talent they have on the roster heading into Opening Day, this team has a good chance to compete for a playoff spot and hopefully an NL Central crown. The future of this organization is very bright as their farm system is stacked with all kinds of talent. Interested to see how Matt Shaw, Owen Cassie, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ben Brown do this season for Iowa. While the young talent continues to Develop, Chicago fans are going to see its best season from a right fielder since Sammy Sosa roamed Wrigley. Seiya Suzuki has a real chance at a 30-30-20 season for the Cubs with an average of over .280 with over 100 RBIs which will easily place him in the MVP discussion. This Cubs team will be fun to watch this year, so make sure to tune in Thursday night when they take on the Rangers on ESPN!
