Spring Training- The Last Few Days

So the Cubs beat the Royals, lost to the Rockies and beat the Mariners. Here are a few takeaways from the last few days.

The Cubs Are Hitting! 

In the last 3 games, the Cubs have 32 hits. For a team that was primarily manufacturing runs via the homer last year this is a great development. The Brewers hit early and often in their games and I am all about the Cubs hitting, hitting and hitting some more.

The Pipeline Has Some Juice Still

The common wisdom is that the Cubs have sacrificed their minor league pipeline for the win-now window. Still though, there is some real talent in the minors that I am excited about. Including Trent Giambrone. Trent is absolutely raking it in spring training and is leading a trio of offensive talent that is looking better and better.

https://www.cubsinsider.com/2019/03/06/cubs-prospects-mark-zagunis-trent-giambrone-jared-young-making-major-noise-this-spring/

Pitching Is Meh? 

There isn't much you can tease out of Spring Training when it comes to pitching. Maddon has a strict pitch count, pitchers can't really get into a rhythm and the starters might look sharp one game and rusty the next. One seeming bright spot is the "righting of the ship" of Chatwood.

So far he is pitched in 8 innings sporting a 2.35 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Solid numbers which I will take in a heartbeat given the absolute train wreck the second half of the season was with Tyler. Not sure what portends for Chatwood this season but at least this Spring he looks like a major league pitcher which could be a game changer for the Cubs this year. Time will tell.