5 Biggest Takeaways for Chicago Cubs Following MLB Opening Week
Expectations are extremely high for the Cubs this season and the regular season is finally underway. 2015 got off to a rocky start with the Cubs getting shut out at home to start the year, but there's plenty of season left to be played.
It's dangerous to read too much into a team's first three games, but based on some trends that are already emerging, here are the five biggest things fans can take away from the team's performance over the first few days of the season.
All stats used in this story are taken from Baseball-Reference.
5. Young Hitters Will Take Their Lumps
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As if it weren't already obvious, the Cubs' young hitters are going to struggle at various points during the season. It's really about how they respond to adversity that will determine how successful they and the 2015 Chicago Cubs are.
Already this season, some young players have had some serious trouble. Here are three players who have less than a year of major league experience and have gotten off to a rocky start.
| Player | H/AB | XBH | HR | RBI |
| OF Jorge Soler | 2/10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3B Mike Olt | 1/8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B/OF Arismendy Alcantara | 0/7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
These numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt; they're only through three games.
However, they illustrate the bigger point that Cubs fans shouldn't expect all of their prospects to hit the ground running in the big leagues. Especially since these three players all had some MLB playing time under their belt before this season.
Everyone needs to keep this in mind as Kris Bryant and Addison Russell make their way to the big leagues.
4. The Pitcher Will Usually Bat in the Eighth Spot
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One thing that can pretty definitively be taken from the first three games of the season is that the Cubs are going to hit the pitcher in the No. 8 spot in the order most, if not all of the time.
Joe Maddon used this strategy a couple of times in inter-league play back during his days with the Rays, and now that he's an NL manager, he seems intent on using this strategy quite a bit. He has used it in all three of the team's games so far.
The idea with this strategy is that it rolls over the lineup better. This way, the No. 9 hitter acts as a second leadoff hitter. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way, but Maddon seems to believe it will pay off more times than not.
3. The Bullpen Could Be Elite
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One of the couple very positive takeaways from the season's first few games is that the bullpen seems like it could be the real deal. They have shown the ability to pitch out of jams in big spots and keep games close or close out games late.
Especially in the back end, this team is extremely deep. The group of Phil Coke, Jason Motte, Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon is about as good as it gets as far as foursomes in MLB bullpens go.
Here are the bullpen's numbers through the team's first three games:
It's worth noting that the only two runs given up by the bullpen so far were surrendered by Brian Schlitter, who was only recalled after Justin Grimm was placed on the DL. He likely won't be on the major league roster if everyone can stay healthy.
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2. Kris Bryant Won't Solve All the Cubs' Offensive Woes
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Everyone is waiting for Kris Bryant to be called up later this month, but even his big bat isn't going to solve all of the Cubs' offensive problems. They've scored three runs in three games and the offense is already a concern.
More concerning than their run total is the fact that they've had plenty of scoring chances. They just haven't been able to convert scoring chances into runs. Oftentimes, the difference between winning and losing teams is the ability to capitalize on those opportunities.
A few examples of the team's inability to convert major scoring chances:
Game 1, innings 1 through 5
On Opening Night, the Cubs could have easily scored five or more runs. Instead, they scored zero. In the first five innings, the team got a leadoff hit four times and four of those hits were doubles. Despite that, the team couldn't scratch across a single run.
Game 2, 4th inning
After a triple off the bat of Jorge Soler and a walk to Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs had runners on the corners with just one out. A Starlin Castro strikeout and Chris Coghlan fly out later and the threat was over.
Game 3, innings 2 and 3
In back-to-back innings, the Cubs loaded the bases. The third inning saw them load them up with nobody out. Combined between those two chances, they were able to score just one run and it came on a sacrifice fly. It was a nice piece of hitting, but the Cubs need to be driving the ball hard in scoring chances like that.
The Cubs have stranded 19 total batters in their three games, which is alarming. There is plenty of time to fix this problem, but for now, it should be a major concern. Cubs fans should also realize that the magic wand Kris Bryant calls his bat won't fix all of their offensive problems right away.
1. Jake Arrieta Will Be a Cy Young Candidate
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Jake Arrieta has only pitched in one game this season but one thing is clear: he's ready to be in the Cy Young discussion this season. He picked up right where he left off last season and may be ready to completely take off.
In his debut, he went seven strong innings, allowing just three hits and zero runs. He also earned his first win of the season. And he didn't even have his best stuff.
Last year, Arrieta flew under the radar since he missed the season's first month, but in 25 games, he put up these gaudy numbers:
| W | L | ERA | WHIP | IP | K |
| 10 | 5 | 2.53 | .989 | 156.2 | 167 |
You can compare those numbers with just about everyone but Clayton Kershaw in the National League and Arrieta was right there with the best of them. With a full season and the momentum from last year, Arrieta should be considered a dark horse Cy Young candidate.
Here is a great story by Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs from last year explaining just how Arrieta has been able to go from a near-bust prospect to an elite pitcher in a short period of time.
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