A June swoon? Maybe not, but Cubs have some issues
The Cubs broke even in June, but their 13-13 record for the month was the worst in the NL Central after Pittsburgh beat St. Louis on Monday.
Does it count as a swoon? Should fans be worried about losing 3½ games in the standings to the Brewers? And what exactly went wrong?
The quick answers are no, a little, and starting pitching. At least, starting pitching was the most obvious problem. While the Cubs led MLB in bullpen ERA last month, their starters posted a 4.87 ERA, which ranked 24th. Milwaukee was fourth-best in starter ERA, by the way.
The return of Shota Imanaga will help and Matthew Boyd is an all-star candidate, but every other Cubs starter posted an ERA above 5.00 in June. Javier Assad could be a welcome addition, though his return from a lingering oblique issue might be another month away.
There's another cause for concern on the offensive side: The Cubs aren't manufacturing many runs, at least not like they were early in the season.
In June, the Cubs tied for the MLB lead in both home runs and stolen bases, which sounds like great news. But they ranked 12th in runs scored and a likely cause is finishing 28th in walks last month.
The strikeouts are still relatively low, but the abundance of free-swingers in the lineup (basically everyone except Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ and Michael Busch) is being felt. How many potential walks turned into inning-killing outs?
The good news is the schedule. Outside of the NL Central, the Cubs have just 5 series remaining against teams with winning records (Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Mets, Giants). And they've gone 14-8 against the division so far.
· Thanks to the numbers listed above, the Cubs figure to be eyeing a starter before the July 31 trade deadline.
There's been some buzz about Pittsburgh's Mitch Keller, which isn't a bad option. Over the past four years, he's been durable and his worst season ERA is 4.25.
Keller is also under contract for three more years. Since 2022, his numbers are comparable to Jameson Taillon and at 29, Keller is four years younger. With fewer home runs allowed.
Another popular name is Miami's Sandy Alcantara, but the concern there is obvious. After winning the Cy Young in 2022, missing all of '24 due to Tommy John surgery, he's posted a 6.98 ERA this year. There was a stretch of four pretty good starts, but that ended with his last outing, 7 earned runs against Arizona.
Another question is whether the Cubs have enough to offer in a trade. They have three top-100 prospects in Iowa that are relatively blocked — outfielders Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara, along with catcher Moises Ballesteros. Infielders James Triantos and Jefferson Rojas could be attractive, but if teams are looking for young pitching in return, the Cubs minor leagues are lacking right now.
· A key player in the NL Central race figures to be Brewers rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski. Three starts into his big-league career, he's 3-0 and allowed just 3 hits and 2 runs in 16 innings, which is ridiculous. The only runs he's allowed were a 2-run homer by Minnesota's Matt Wallner.
Misiorowski has an interesting draft story. He was quite a find by the Brewers, a second-round pick in 2022 out of Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., the 63rd overall selection.
The Brewers gave him the second-highest signing bonus of that year's second round at $2.35 million. The highest bonus was the Cubs giving $3.0 million to pitcher Jackson Ferris from IMG Academy, a player they traded to the Dodgers for Michael Busch.
The Brewers took Misiorowski with the very next pick after the White Sox selected pitcher Peyton Pallette out of Arkansas. He's been up-and-down in the minors and is currently a reliever for Charlotte.
· There are plenty of reminders around baseball that things could be much worse for the Cubs. The Mets are going through a 3-13 stretch, and were just swept in Pittsburgh. The Phillies lost nine of 10 last month, while the Yankees had a six-game skid and were shutout three games in a row. It's tough to be great for 162.
· Three Cubs are in the second round of MLB All-Star voting — Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Carson Kelly, Voting is open until 11 a.m. on Wednesday.