2018 Remarkable! Season Preview – Chicago Cubs

by | Mar 7, 2018 | Baseball

 

2017 Record: 92-70 (1st in NL Central – Lost in NLCS)

The Chicago Cubs landed one of the prized of the offseason when they signed Yu Darvish. They also bolstered their bullpen by signing Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek among other moves. The Cubs look like they are reloaded and ready to make another deep playoff run. Here’s our Remarkable! season preview.

 

Starting Pitchers

 

Jon Lester
  • He struck out 34.1% (58/170) of left-handed batters he faced in 2017 — 3rd best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 19.7%.

  • He threw non-fastballs on 14.9% (198/1,331) of his in-zone pitches in 2017 — 3rd worst among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 36.6%.
  • Hitters chased 368 of Jon Lester’s 1,313 fastballs out of the zone (chase rate of 28.0%) in 2017 — 20th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 23.7%.

 

Yu Darvish
  • Opponents had a miss rate of 26.1% (251/960) against Yu Darvish on fastballs in 2017 — 6th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 16.3%.

  • Opponents hit .169 against Yu Darvish (45-for-267) on non-fastballs in 2017 — 11th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .231.
  • He had a strikeout rate of 30.4% (51/168) with RISP in 2017 — 8th highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 20.0%.

 

Jose Quintana
  • He walked 5 of 163 left-handed batters (3.1%) in 2017 — 6th lowest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 8.9%.
  • He had a strike rate of just 58.3% (589/1,011) with two strikes in 2017 — 4th worst among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 64.8%.
  • Left-handed hitters have a Well-Hit Avg of .085 (13/153) against Jose Quintana in 2017 — 7th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .170.

 

Kyle Hendricks
  • Opponents hit .154 against Kyle Hendricks (14-for-91) with RISP in 2017 — best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .265.

  • Hitters chased 223 of Kyle Hendricks’ 438 changeups out of the zone (chase rate of 50.9%) in 2017 — 3rd highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 35.4%.
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .389 (116 Total Bases / 298 ABs) on fastballs in 2017 — 17th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .480.

 

Mike Montgomery
  • As a starter, he induced groundballs on 67.5% of balls put in play against him on the first pitch of at-bats in 2017 — 3rd highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 43.8%.
  • Opponents had a line drive rate of 13.3% (16/120) against Mike Montgomery as a starter on fastballs in 2017 — best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 22.7%.

  • As a starter, he allowed a slugging percentage of .188 (24 Total Bases / 128 ABs) with two strikes in 2017 — 10th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .289.

 

Tyler Chatwood
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 58.3% (233/400) against Tyler Chatwood as a starter in 2017 — 7th highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.3%.
  • As a starter, he had a first-pitch strike rate of just 53.1% (310/584) in 2017 — 5th worst among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 60.7%.
  • Opponents hit .164 against Tyler Chatwood (31-for-189) as a starter on non-fastballs in 2017 — 7th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .231.

 

Relief Pitchers

 

2017 Bullpen Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .224 3rd
OBP .318 13th
SLG .370 4th
OPS .688 6th
BB% 11.2% 30th
K% 26.3% 6th
GB% 46.2% 9th

 

Brandon Morrow
  • He allowed an OPS of .308 (60 PAs) vs left-handed batters in 2017 — 2nd best among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .728.

  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .213 (34 Total Bases / 160 ABs) in the 2017 season — 2nd best among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .377.
  • Hitters swung at 57.2% of Brandon Morrow’s pitches (350/612) in 2017 — 3rd highest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 47.8%.

 

Carl Edwards Jr.
  • Opponents hit .134 against Carl Edwards (29-for-217) in the 2017 season — 3rd among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .245.

  • He struck out 39.8% (53/133) of right-handed batters he faced in 2017 — 7th highest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 23.8%.
  • He walked 14 of 72 batters (19.4%) against the heart of the order in 2017 — League Avg: 10.0%.

 

Pedro Strop
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 77.1% (37/48) against Pedro Strop with RISP in the 2017 season — highest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 46.2%.

  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .282 (11 Total Bases / 39 ABs) when he’s behind in the count in 2017 — 6th among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .608.
  • Hitters chased 87 of Pedro Strop’s 176 breaking balls down out of the zone (chase rate of 49.4%) in 2017 — 8th highest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 35.8%.

 

Justin Wilson
  • He walked 12 of 59 batters (20.3%) against the first batter faced in the inning in the 2017 season — 4th worst among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 8.0%.
  • Opponents hit .168 against Justin Wilson (23-for-137) on fastballs in 2017 — 8th among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg; .268.

 

Steve Cishek
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .194 (21 Total Bases / 108 ABs) vs right-handed batters in 2017 — 5th among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .404..
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 56.8% (25/44) against Steve Cishek on curves and sliders in 2017 — 17th highest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.7%.

 

Hitters

 

2017 Offense Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .255 16th
OBP .338 T-4th
SLG .437 T-7th
OPS .775 6th
BB% 9.9% 2nd
K% 22.3% T-19th
QAB 2676 8th
wOBA .338 4th

 

Willson Contreras
  • He had an OPS of 1.245 (112 PAs) with RISP in 2017 — best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .773.

  • He slugged .610 (133 total bases in 218 ABs) versus starting pitchers in 2017 — 4th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .440.
  • He went to the opposite field with 38.4% of balls he’s put into play (38/99) with two strikes in 2017 — 15th highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 30.3%.

 

Kris Bryant
  • He had an OBP of .437 (323 PAs) on the road in 2017 — 3rd best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .318.
  • He had 13 HRs in 95 ABs (7.3 AB/HR) when the pitcher is behind in the count in 2017 — 10th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 15.6.
  • He had an OPS of 1.165 (54 PAs) against pitchers who have reached at least 80 pitches in a game in 2017 — 6th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .778.

 

Anthony Rizzo
  • He slugged .913 (95 total bases in 104 ABs) on low fastballs in 2017 — best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .487.

  • He had a line drive rate of 30.6% (41/134) on curves and sliders in 2017 — 4th highest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 20.9%.
  • He drew 31 walks in 171 PAs (18.1%) against right-handed relievers in 2017 — 4th among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 9.1%.

 

Javier Baez
  • He chased 43.7% of pitches out of the zone (444/1,017) in the 2017 season — League Avg: 29.2%.
  • He made 9 non-routine plays out of 18 chances (50.0%) in close and late situations in 2017 — best in MLB; League Avg: 23.5%.

  • He slugged .778 (49 total bases in 63 ABs) on low fastballs in 2017 — League Avg: .444.

 

Jason Heyward
  • He made 13 non-routine plays out of 27 chances (48.1%) in the 2017 season — 3rd best in MLB; League Avg: 22.3%.
  • He had 1 HR in 116 ABs (116.0 AB/HR) versus LHP in 2017 — League Avg: 28.9.
  • He struck out just 41 times in 360 PAs (11.4%) versus RHP in 2017 — 8th among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.7%.

 

Kyle Schwarber
  • He slugged 1.231 (48 total bases in 39 ABs) on the first pitch of at-bats this season — best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .585.

  • He averaged 4.34 Pitches per Plate Appearance (2,110/486) in 2017 — 6th among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 3.9.
  • He batted just .144 (14-for-97) with RISP in 2017 — 3rd worst among part-time hitters; League Avg: .261.

 

Albert Almora
  • He batted .360 (54-for-150) on fastballs in 2017 — 2nd best among part-time hitters; League Avg: .278.
  • 17.0% of his plate appearances have lasted only one pitch (55/323 PAs) in 2017 — 9th highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 10.8%.

 

Addison Russell
  • He slugged .930 (53 total bases in 57 ABs) when the pitcher is behind in the count in 2017 — 10th among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .631.
  • He had a Well-Hit Avg of .309 (25/81) on pitches 94 mph or greater this season — 3rd best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .171.

 

Ian Happ
  • He had an OPS of .984 (216 PAs) with the bases empty in 2017 — 2nd among part-time hitters; League Avg: .738.
  • He had a line drive rate of 28.7% (23/80) with two strikes in 2017 — 12th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.2%.

 

Ben Zobrist
  • He swung and missed 13.9% (107/768) times in 2017 — 8th lowest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 24.1%.
  • He had a groundball rate of 53.8% (143/266) on fastballs in 2017 — 15th highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 43.7%.

 

 

Thanks for visiting!  For more information on Remarkable, click here: inside-edge.com/remarkable

And, you may also enjoy what we’re posting over on Twitter: @InsideEdgeScout

 

photo credits Icon Sportswire
http://www.iconsportswire.com/home