Baby Bears: Mariners vs. Cubs Series Preview
The Mariners return home to host the Cubs.
It’s hard to call any game in April a “must-win,” but that’s certainly what Wednesday’s game felt like. After a pair of three-game losing streaks over the last week, the vibes were turning sour and the Mariners needed something to turn the tide. That something turned out to be another dramatic 10th inning rally — their second of this young season — that helped them avoid a sweep in Toronto. Seattle has now scored more runs in the 10th inning than in any other inning so far. Hopefully that changes with this series at home against the Cubs.
The Cubs have quickly rebuilt their roster after tearing down their World Series winning core a few years ago. They’ve invested plenty of money into some key free agents including Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, and Shota Imanaga and they’ve had a number of key prospects develop into everyday players. They barely missed out on the playoffs last year, remaining competitive in the NL Wild Card race until the final week of the season. This year, they’ve gotten off to a strong start and the NL Central looks wide open for the taking.
The Cubs returned nearly their entire starting lineup from last year, though that was a little up-in-the-air until they finally re-signed Cody Bellinger in late February. Bellinger had a resurgent season in 2023, a return to form after three injury plagued seasons to close out his time in Los Angeles. While his batted ball peripherals weren’t so impressive, it’s hard to argue with his actual results: 26 home runs and a 134 wRC+. In his second season stateside, Seiya Suzuki improved across nearly every significant offensive category and finished as one of the best hitters during the final two months of the year. Chicago’s best hitter to start this season has been Christopher Morel. He had a quiet breakout last year and looks to be improving even further this year by cutting his strikeout rate in half.
Probable Pitchers
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Jordan Wicks was the Cubs first round pick during the 2021 draft and made his major league debut a couple of years later. A fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio in the minor leagues helped him shoot through the organization. He has a deep six-pitch repertoire but leans pretty heavily on his two fastballs and his above average changeup. He’s got great command of his entire arsenal and his varied pitch shapes help him keep batters off balance. His high strikeout rates from the low minors didn’t translate to Triple-A or his limited time in the big leagues last year, but he should have a bit more ceiling to grow into a mid-rotation starter.
In an offseason where Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one of the headlining free agents transitioning from Japan, Shota Imanaga was a bit overshadowed. He was a frontline starter and NPB All-Star and was the starting pitcher for Team Japan in the clinching game of last year’s WBC championship final. His fastball sits around 92 mph but it has such tremendous carry that it’s extremely difficult to square up. A splitter, sweeping slider, and slow curveball round out his arsenal. The biggest concern as he made the leap to MLB was whether or not his arsenal would play well in a league geared towards making elevated contact. He was extremely fly ball prone in Japan and that will probably continue to be an issue in the US.
In his first full season in the big leagues, Javier Assad bounced between long relief and the starting rotation last year. He had a nice run of nine starts for the Cubs in August and September, posting a 2.84 ERA that far outpaced a 4.52 FIP during that stretch. Like Wicks, he’s got good command of a deep six-pitch arsenal, though none of his pitches truly stand out from a stuff perspective. Still, the combination of location, sequencing, and varied pitch shapes help his entire repertoire play up.
The Big Picture
The Astros fell back to rear of the AL West standings after they were swept by the red-hot Royals this week; they were outscored 28-8. They’ll try and get back on track with a home series against the Rangers this weekend. Texas is coming off a series loss to the A’s. The Angels lost their series against the Rays this week and will travel to Boston over the weekend.