The Marcus Stroman show led to another Chicago Cubs victory. Stroman continued to make a case for the NL Cy Young Award with his start against the San Diego Padres on June 4. He struck out six batters and allowed one unearned run in six innings giving Stroman another win to improve to 6-4 on the season with a 2.39 ERA. Stroman now has an MLB-leading 11 quality starts. This comes as Jameson Taillon got his first win of the season earlier in the series against the Padres.
In his last four starts, Stroman has a 1.24 ERA and 21 strikeouts. Each of these games has resulted in a Cubs victory. Stroman is second in the NL in ERA. He is also tied for the most innings pitched in the NL. At the upcoming All-Star Game, Stroman should be starting for the NL. Also, the NL Cy Young Award will be his if he continues this dominance. The Stroman show is just starting and a contract extension for him should be coming in the near future as his value continues to increase.
Possible New Catcher
The Cubs should be starting Miguel Amaya at catcher. Amaya has a .375 average in seven games in comparison to Tucker Barnhart’s underperforming .175 average in 27 games. Based on numbers, Yan Gomes and Amaya should be catching instead of Barnhart. It would be wise for the Cubs to keep Amaya on the major league roster instead of sending him back to the minors. Even though Barnhart has a stellar .990 fielding percentage this season, catchers that excel at defense and underperform at the plate are not nearly as valuable now as they once were. Analytics has played a large role in this shift at the catching position.
During his stints with Triple-A Iowa this season, Amaya has a .313 average. This is the second time he has been promoted to the Cubs roster as an injury replacement this season. While Amaya has played just seven games, he has made an impact at the plate. So far he has not committed an error in six games with the Cubs. Amaya will hopefully be the Cubs catcher for a long time. The mentorship of veteran catchers like Gomes and Barnhart will help Amaya become comfortable at the major league level and should stabilize the position.
Top Prospects
With the draft approaching it is a good time to look at the Cubs farm system. Four of the top 100 prospects in the current MLB.com rankings are members of the Cubs farm system. Pete Crow-Armstrong is the highest ranked Cubs prospect at #13 overall and is ranked first within the organization. Of the Cubs top 10 prospects four of them are either in the majors or expected to play in the majors in 2023. Matt Mervis is the Cubs highest ranked prospect currently on the main roster.
Marcus Stroman Show Continues and What Is Next
Look for the Stroman show to resume this weekend. The Cubs do not have another day off until June 12, meaning the rotation may be altered. After finishing up their West Coast road trip, the Cubs do not leave the Eastern or Central time zone again until the All-Star break, except for their London series against the Cardinals in late June. One more West Coast road trip is on the schedule after the current one concludes. The new balanced schedule will have an impact on the stretch run as the make-or-break part of the season heats up.
Photo Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned:
Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Miguel Amaya, Yan Gomes, Tucker Barnhart, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Mervis
