Chicago Cubs' depth figures to be key factor down stretch

Kyle Schwarber may well be ready to play sometime this weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

If not, the Cubs may be able to make do.

Schwarber, the Cubs' power-hitting rookie, was a late lineup scratch from Wednesday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds with what the team called right-rib soreness.

Best-case scenario is that Schwarber used Thursday's off-day in the schedule to rest and that he will need maybe a day or two more to heal.

The worst case is that he has an oblique injury, like the one that put right fielder Jorge Soler on the disabled list Aug. 24 and could keep him out for the better part of a month.

Results from an MRI done on Schwarber should be announced Friday.

Either way, the situation makes the recent pickup of outfielder Austin Jackson a fortuitous one for the Cubs, who obtained Jackson from the Seattle Mariners in a trade Monday.

In August, Jackson put up a line of .314/.339/.438 with 2 homers and 13 RBI. Primarily a center fielder, he started in right field for the Cubs on Wednesday and went 2-for-4. He also looked good in the field.

"August was for us about having depth, trying to plan for injuries and redundancy," team president Theo Epstein said. "You try to anticipate all the different things that can go wrong and come up with respectable solutions before they happen because once you get into September, it's too late."

Dexter Fowler has been a fixture in center field. The Cubs also have gotten a lot this year from Chris Coghlan, who has made 81 starts in left field, 6 in right and 11 at second base.

Although Coghlan's batting average and on-base numbers have dropped slightly from last year, he has a career-high 15 home runs.

"He's become a really difficult out, a really reliable tough at-bat, at-bat to at-bat, game to game," Epstein said. "He's really improved his defense in left field.

"His versatility has been really important to us, bouncing him around, both corner outfield spots, second base and a little bit of third base."

Comparison Part I:

With the Arizona Diamondbacks coming to town, we'll get a look at two MVP candidates in Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and D'backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who is expected to return from paternity leave by Saturday.

Here is how the two compare:

• Rizzo has a line of .282/.390/.527 with 27 home runs and 79 RBI. He has 63 walks and 87 strikeouts. According to FanGraphs, Rizzo has a wins above replacement (WAR) of 4.7, good for eighth in the National League.

• Goldschmidt is at .322/.437/.563 with 27 homers and 97 RBI. He has 100 walks and 122 strikeouts. His WAR is 6.3, third in the NL behind leader Bryce Harper of Washington and Joey Votto of the Reds. Cubs rookie Kris Bryant, by the way, ranks sixth in WAR (5.2).

Comparison Part II:

The Diamondbacks come to town with a record 65-69, which had them tied for third in the NL West with the San Diego Padres entering Thursday.

However, the D'backs' run differential is a plus-22, giving them an "expected," or Pythagorean, record of 69-55.

The Cubs are 75-57 and third in the NL Central. Their run differential is only a plus-20, giving them an expected record of 68-64.

The St. Louis Cardinals, who lead the Central, have a run differential of a whopping plus-142, while the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates are at plus-73.

Here's another interesting one: The San Francisco Giants entered Thursday night's game at Colorado with a record of 69-64 and trailing the Cubs by 6½ games for the second wild-card spot. The Giant's run differential was plus-59, giving them an expected record of 74-59.

The Cubs can take heart in knowing that even if they and the Giants gravitate toward their expected records, the Giants simply may run out of schedule in the end.

Honors roll in:

Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was named National League rookie of the month for August, while ace Jake Arrieta was named pitcher of the month.

Arrieta tossed a no-hitter Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was 6-0 with an 0.43 ERA in August. Bryant went .330/.422/.620 for the month with 7 homers and 20 RBI.

The Cubs handed out their own awards. They named outfielder Albert Almora and right-handed pitcher Oscar De La Cruz their minor league player and pitcher of the month, respectively.

• Follow Bruce's baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet today and Saturday; WGN Sunday

Radio: WBBM 780-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jon Lester (8-10) vs. Zack Godley (4-0) Friday; Jake Arrieta (17-6) vs. Robbie Ray (3-10) Saturday; Kyle Hendricks (6-6) vs. Rubby De La Rosa (12-6) Sunday. All games 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs lost two of three from the Diamondbacks in Arizona in late May. The Diamondbacks are an offensive-minded team. They entered Thursday leading the National League in runs scored and were second in on-base percentage and third in batting average. However, they ranked 10th in ERA (4.07). MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt has a line of .322/.437/.563 with 27 homers and 97 RBI. Former Cubs catcher Welingon Castillo is at .269/.338/.543 with 15 homers and 37 RBI. The Cubs entered Thursday's off-day ninth in runs scored, eighth in OBP and last in team batting average. They were fifth in ERA (3.59).

Next: St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Monday-Wednesday

- Bruce Miles