The Chicago Cubs have been the best team in baseball by a wide margin this season, there’s no doubt about it. Even though they went through a mini-slump before the All-Star Break, they’ve been unstoppable in August.
Joe Maddon’s team has gone 14-2 in August with a 8-2 record over the last 10 games. Their 77-43 mark is the best in MLB, and they lead the NL Central by 13 games. There’s absolutely no chance that they miss the playoffs. But with the way they’ve played this year, it seems it’s World Series or bust for Chicago.
Just take a look at their 9-6 win against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday as an example. They were always in control of the game, and their win was never in doubt. Sure, in that particular game Kris Bryant went 5-for-5 with two HR and five RBI. But overall they’ve been pretty good both on offense and defense, and the numbers back that up.
The Cubs have two MVP candidates in Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, and even though they anchor the offense, they’re not the only ones who can hurt opposing pitchers. Addison Russell has 14 HR and 74 RBI. Ben Zobrist has contributed with 13 HR and 60 RBI. And Dexter Fowler has been a catalyst at the top of the lineup with a .291 average and a .395 OBP. Unfortunately for opposing teams, that’s not enough. Jorge Soler has looked very good since returning from the DL, Javier Baez is a utility man with a lot of power (13 HR in 309 AB) and Jason Heyward is finally finding his stroke at the plate.
The offense has been very good, but the rotation has been even better. The Cubs have four pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA, and the highest ERA is a mere 3.41 from John Lackey. Jake Arrieta has been a bit inconsistent but remains one of the best pitchers in the NL. And Kyle Hendricks is likely to receive some Cy Young consideration thanks to his breakout season.
The bullpen might be the team’s weakest area, but it’s not due to a lack of talent. Pedro Strop is currently in the DL, but should be ready to go for the playoffs when Chicago will need all hands on deck. The set-up/closer combo of Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman can be one of the best in the Majors. And the likes of Trevor Cahill and Travis Wood have been effective, too. If Justin Grimm turns things around and if Joe Smith comes up strong from the DL, watch out.
We will have to wait and see if the Cubs can go all the way. But there’s no way to discuss how good they’ve been this year, and all signs indicate they’re catching fire at the right time.