Suzuki, Little and Ohtani: Thoughts on Cubs opening week
Plenty to unpack during the first week of Cubs season:
A potential positive development is Seiya Suzuki, now in his third MLB season, becoming an all-star caliber player. He showed what the ceiling could be with a .938 OPS in the second half of last year.
A small sample size stat of note is the power. Suzuki's hard-hit percentage is at 63.2% this season, up from 48% last year. His average exit velocity has risen from 89.6 to 91.4 to 95.2 in his three turns with the Cubs.
“Ever since that second half of the season last year, one of the big things I feel like was really important was staying aggressive early in the count,” Suzuki said Wednesday, using a translator. “On pitches that kind of hang in the zone, I wanted to make sure I get my A-swing in and get those results.
“That's what led to me finish off pretty strong last year and I feel like it's helping me start off on a good note this year as well. That's going to help my confidence.”
Suzuki does not lead the Cubs in hard-hit percentage. That honor goes to Dansby Swanson, giving the Cubs two in the MLB top 20. Could be promising.
∙ This weekend promises to be festive, with the Dodgers coming to town. It will be Shohei Ohtani's first time playing at Wrigley Field. The Angels did visit the North Side early in 2019 while two-way sensation was injured.
Both Japanese rookie pitchers are set to take the mound in this series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will face Jordan Wicks on Saturday, followed by Shota Imanaga against Gavin Stone on Sunday.
Imanaga made his official American debut by tossing 6 shutout innings in the Cubs home opener. Yamamoto was knocked around by the Padres in his first start, which was played in Korea. But he bounced back with 5 shutout innings against St. Louis in his second outing.
The most interesting pitching matchup might be Friday, when McHenry High School grad Bobby Miller takes the mound for LA against Kyle Hendricks. Miller was lights-out in his season debut against the Cardinals, tossing 6 shutout innings on 2 hits, with 11 strikeouts. The Dodgers moved Miller up to the No. 2 slot in the rotation this year, and his fastball is averaging 98.9 mph.
As a side note, a Japanese reporter who follows the Cubs told me last year one reason she didn't think Ohtani would consider the Cubs in free agency is he hates the cold. The highs this weekend are supposed to be in the 40s. Whether he considers that “cold” remains to be seen.
∙ This happened over the course of two seasons, but Luke Little has essentially started his MLB career by tossing a shutout. After a dominant first inning as Wednesday's opener, Little has thrown 9⅔ career innings with a 0.00 ERA.
Sounds like it's time to give him more challenges. Can he throw two innings as an opener? Should he get a tryout to be the eighth-inning reliever?
The 2020 fourth-round pick made 30 starts in the minor leagues. The Cubs don't really need him for a starting role, but the 6-foot-8 lefty says he's ready for anything.
“I actually joked with (pitching coach) Tommy (Hottovy) when I got in the dugout. I said, 'So I've got four more or am I done?'” Little said after Wednesday's game. He was done.
∙ Another pitching situation to monitor is what to do with Javier Assad. Now with 19 starts in the majors, Assad's ERA as a starter is 2.80 after blanking Colorado over 6 innings on Tuesday. He might be the Cubs' best pitcher, or at least 1A with Justin Steele.
If the Cubs ever have a completely healthy staff when Steele and Jameson Taillon come off the injured list, it would be difficult to justify removing Assad from the rotation.
Manager Craig Counsell is an advocate for giving starting pitchers extra rest when possible, so would he use a six-man rotation this year? That decision could be necessary next month.
∙ Every Cubs stat can be taken at limited value right now, because Colorado (1-6) might be really bad. That fact also raises the question, “How the heck did Kris Bryant end up in this situation?”
He's said he didn't have a clear understanding of the talent in the Rockies farm system. MLB Pipeline has Colorado's minor leagues ranked No. 21, one slot behind the White Sox.
A better question might be why did the Rockies even pursue Bryant? It makes no sense for a team headed for 100 losses to have a $28 million player in the lineup every day. It would be interesting to know what Bryant's second option would have been if Colorado never made an offer.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports