2 Cubs players to start worrying about after slow starts and 2 that will be just fine

This Chicago Cubs season has not started the way any fans could have drawn it up after their strong offseason. Although a 6-8 record this early isn't the end of the world, it's certainly concerning, given that nine of those games came against a rebuilding Nationals team, the Angels, and a Rays team still trying to cobble something together. Things started to look up in Tampa with back-to-back wins, but Craig Counsell's club remains in the basement, now without Cade Horton for the year and looking to fend off a sweep at the hands of the Pirates.

Beyond the injuries, the players simply haven't performed as expected. On offense, seven regulars have an OPS under .700, including three of the team's biggest expected contributors — Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman, and Michael Busch. With Seiya Suzuki out and Matt Shaw getting the lion's share of starts in right, the bench has looked underwhelming yet again, too. Add in a leaky bullpen that ranks 10th in the National League in ERA with multiple blown leads, and it's clear that things need to improve.

The good news is that it's still very early in the season, and these are small sample sizes. Most of these players will, hopefully, turn it around. That said, there are a few whose problems run deep enough to create serious concerns about whether a bounce-back is at all possible. Let's look at two players whose slow starts are red flags worth keeping an eye on and two who are probably just fine.

2 Cubs we should worry about and 2 who will soon get on track

Concerned: Phil Maton

When the Cubs signed Phil Maton to a two-year deal, it represented a departure for an organization that has been averse to spending on the bullpen. More importantly, though, it seemed to give them a potent set-up man for Daniel Palencia. The soft-tossing righty has been one of baseball's most consistent relievers since 2022 and is coming off a career year between the Rangers and the Cardinals in which he posted a 2.79 ERA and 2.60 FIP. Despite not throwing all that hard, he still managed to be adept at generating punchouts with a 32.7 percent strikeout rate.

There was a lot to love under the hood for Maton that made the signing seem savvy. Unfortunately, all of that flew right out the window once he slipped on a Cubs uniform. He hasn't just been bad — he's been downright unplayable, earning a 13.50 ERA and 8.43 FIP in his first four innings. Obviously, the numbers are comical because of the small sample, but he's earned nearly every single point, struggling with command and giving up four walks with two hit batters.

He's giving up louder contact across the board, too, while not missing bats. His cutter, one of his most effective weapons last year, hasn't gotten nearly the amount of whiffs, dropping from 32.9 percent to just 8.0 percent and losing a full tick of velocity. Prior to going on the the IL, Maton was working to get back to how he executed in 2025 and seems to know what's going on.

“I’m just really trying to simplify my delivery and get back to where I was last year when I was feeling really good with my delivery,” he told The Athletic on Thursday. “Efficient down the mound and getting into my legs. Right now I’m just not doing that."

Fine: Alex Bregman

There might not be a more snakebitten player on the Cubs right now than Alex Bregman. On the surface, his .207/.281/.328 slash line and 78 wRC+ are downright rotten, especially for a player the team just shelled out $175 million for over five years. However, that comes with a batting average on balls in play of only .213. That suggests a lot of bad luck, since he's usually sat in the .260 to .280 range, and Statcast backs that up.

Though his expected stats still aren't quite there, everything else is exactly what the Cubs would want from Bregman. His chase rate of 13.2 percent ranks among the tops in in all of baseball, and he pairs that absurd discipline with far better than average whiff (15.1 percent) and strikeout rates (14.1 percent) and the ability to square up the baseball 40.4 percent of the time. All of that translates to excellent quality of contact, including an average exit velocity of 92.0 MPH. When you're making good swing decisions, barreling the ball with regularity, and generating power more often than not, it's only a matter of time before results follow.

If he can start getting more line drives to fall and hit that launch angle sweet spot more often, he'll make everyone forget this slow start in a flash. He's doing just about everything right; there just needs to be patience. And, in the meantime, his vaunted leadership will still be valuable.

Concerned: Jacob Webb

Compared to Maton, Jacob Webb's performance so far has arguably been an even greater cause for alarm. In his first five appearances, the 32-year-old righty has faced similar command woes, pitching to a 4.76 ERA and 8.24 FIP with an expected ERA of 13.37 and five walks. For comparison, he only walked 19 batters in his 66 innings with the Rangers last year. Considering walks have been a slight problem for him in past seasons, it's not encouraging to see that trend returning.

Again, small samples will always skew the results, but Webb's is another case like Maton's, where just about everything that made him effective just last year has completely evaporated. A fastball that previously induced a .186/.205/.289 slash line from opposing hitters is currently being crushed at a .375/.502/.750 clip. The good news is that he hasn't lost any velocity, but that's little relief when he's not missing barrels and is giving up the highest average exit velocities of his career.

A big reason the Cubs signed Webb was that he matched their preferred profile of a pitcher — one that, regardless of velocity, could avoid the worst kinds of contact and leave things easily in play for their ironclad defense. He's consistently outperformed his FIP and held batters to a lower BABIP despite only throwing 93 MPH, earning ERAs in the mid-to-low threes year after year since 2023. However, there's inherently some risk baked into that contact-manager style, especially since last year saw his strikeout rate dip and home run rate rise. That's where the lack of command becomes increasingly concerning and could soon lead to far more damage if he doesn't right the ship.

Fine: Michael Busch

If there's anything to take away from this list, it's that I'm not that worried about the Cubs' offense bouncing back, and I am worried about this bullpen. Case in point, Michael Busch. His struggles are more eyebrow-raising than Bregman's — a .118/.220/.157 slash line and 18 wRC+ in 59 plate appearances is a dreadful way to start the year, and he's not exactly hitting the ball with enough authority to put concerns to bed. His exit velocity, barrel rate, hard hit rate, and bat speed are all down considerably in the early going. While he has a low BABIP of .150, that's a little more understandable when he's hitting far more groundballs and fewer fly balls and line drives, and he's not pulling the ball as much.

And yet, despite all that, there are positive signs. He's actually seeing and squaring the ball up better than ever, with a much-improved 17.9 percent strikeout rate and 12.5 percent walk rate. In Tampa, it finally seemed like he was putting the pieces together, too. On Tuesday alone, he had two hard-hit flyouts that died on the warning track, suggesting he's getting closer to finding his rhythm at the plate. Busch isn't where he should be yet, but coming off a 140 wRC+ sophomore outing with the Cubs, there's no reason yet to believe he can't figure it out.

In fact, there's reason to believe he could be even better this year. Counsell has been more aggressive with letting him face lefties and, although the hits haven't come, the at-bats have looked promising. Building himself up beyond his platoon-hitting reputation could be a massive development for this Cubs offense