The Cubs are a very strange first place team. So far this season they've seen a 21-year-old rookie and two 23-year-old breakouts, but they simultaneously have a 40-year-old DH [with a pair of rubber nuts that have been making the rounds on social media], a 35-year-old utility infielder, three starters over 33, and four crucial relievers over 35. This is a team that can rebuild at the same time as utilizing outstanding veteran pieces, and we're essentially at the start of the ride here.
Let's at least start with Seiya Suzuki, because as a forerunner of this Cubs team he exists as a fascinating case. He came over in 2022 and was expected to be a standout straight away, but both slumped and got hurt as his rookie season went on. His last two years he's been very good, hitting .285 each year, but hasn't especially reached the place of dominance the fans thought when he was signed. This city has already seen Kosuke Fukudome fail to live up to expectations, and they struggled with Kyuji Fujikawa and Tsuyoshi Wada as well. So it's very affirming that Suzuki is having his most monstrous season to date, even at 30. He's got 57 RBIs so far, which is on pace to match his single-season best by the break. He also has 17 home runs at the moment, and his season high is 21. The road to a 30+ homer season is here, and even the potential for an All-Star nod. I think the key to Suzuki was not pushing him into a lead role but letting him be an ensemble player, just one of the guys in this lineup. Someone like Swanson or Tucker, or PCA now, can be the marquee guy.
The Cubs this year have cemented a truly great lineup, one that even has a combination where everyone in it was a first round draft pick. The best people have been farmed, signed or brought in to lift this team, and that's what they've been doing. Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow Armstrong, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ have been having excellent seasons at the plate, Carson Kelly is a trusted starter once again and Matt Shaw is finally coming into his own in the majors. They've amassed all these great hitters in their prime that are all lining up for great years. This is what the Cubs have been trying to do since the last core left, and they seem to be accomplishing so much more now.
And again, there's a lot of guys over 32 keeping this team hot. Matt Boyd is one of the Cubs' best pitchers right now, with a 2.89 ERA and a 5-3 record, and he's 34. Jameson Taillon has 7 wins and a 3.50 ERA ad is 33. So many great relief pieces on this team, like Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar and Ryan Brasier, are guys over 35 that other teams counted out. And yes, younger guys like Ben Brown and Cade Horton can fit in there and start establishing themselves, but it's a good balance between up-and-comers and veterans, and not over reliant on either.
The Cubs have been really impressing people so far this season, and with a palpable distance between them and the rest of the pack, they hope to keep doing so even as we reach this season's midway point.
Coming Tomorrow- He sought to bring hope to a fanbase that had lost it all, and he's...sort of succeeded, I think.
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