Chicago Cubs: Simulating May 2016 in MLB The Show 16 on Playstation 4

By David Miniel | Apr 30, 2016

Apr 24, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jason Hammel throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite the final game in the month of April postponed due to the weather, the Chicago Cubs still hold one of the best records in all of baseball. They’ll pick things up tomorrow afternoon with a record of 17-5 before hitting the road for a three-game set in Pittsburgh. How will they do in May?

For those of you who don’t know, MLB The Show is hands down the greatest sports video game franchise out there. So while the Cubs were playing the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, I thought to myself, “Why haven’t I simulated this month to see how things pan out?” — and now we’re here.

So while the Cubs were playing the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, I thought to myself, “Why haven’t I simulated this month to see how things pan out?” — and now we’re here. While the Cubs finished April 17-5, on PlayStation 4, they suffered a string of five losses to the Colorado Rockies and two to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chicago salvaged that road series in St. Louis by defeating the Redbirds as Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, and Addison Russell went deep to back right-hander Jason Hammel. Hammel improved to 2-1 on the year, holding the Cardinals to two earned runs on five hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.

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Hammel, who has one of the best earned run averages on the Cubs right now, finished the month of May with strong numbers. Veteran right-hander John Lackey holds the best ERA (1.63) ahead of Jerad Eickhoff. Instead of Jake Arrieta leading the club in wins, Hammel emerged as the first half ace picking up eight wins with only one loss which leads the rest of the league.

Instead of Jake Arrieta (4-4, 2.62 ERA PS4) leading the club in wins, Hammel emerged as the first half ace picking up eight wins with only one loss which leads the rest of the league.

His earned run average sat at 2.50 with 62 strikeouts through 72 combined innings of work as he finished off the sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, May 29 with a complete game. How surprising is that?

When looking at the lineup, first baseman Anthony Rizzo sits at the top of the food chain with 16 home runs which are second best behind Milwaukee Brewers slugger, Chris Carter. Rizzo collected a total of 57 hits while driving in 32 runs and six stolen bases with a batting line of .246/.343/.523 in 216 at-bats.

One thing I would like to point out is that I’m unable to injure Kyle Schwarber and place him on the disabled list. So far in 38 games, the 23-year-old slugger recorded six home runs, 23 RBI, one stolen base, 30 hits with a batting line of .234/.335/.430. Matt Szczur remained with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

Next: Jake Arrieta forced to defend himself

After dropping the first two of that four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cubs went on a bit of a winning streak. They claimed the final two games of the series, earning a split and went on to sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves before hitting the road. Their winning streak would reach 13 on Friday, May, 6 with an 11-1 win over the Washington Nationals.

Bryce Harper and company snap that streak by winning the final two games of that weekend series. Chicago had multiple winning streaks in May as they would finish the month with an impressive record of 20-8 to put them at 35-17 on the year.

That mark just so happens to be the best in the league with the Toronto Blue Jays entering June with a 36-18 record. The Chicago Cubs still hold the lead in the National League Central by 5.5 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cardinals sits in third at 26-27, Reds at 24-29 and Brewers at 23-30.

As far as team rankings are concerned, Chicago is fifth in batting average (.266), second in runs (240), fifth in home runs (64), second in runs batted in (240), first in base on balls (218), fifth in slugging (.430), first in on-base percentage (.347), first in GIDP (16), fourth in ERA (3.10), fourth in complete games (9), winning percentage (.673).

We’ll continue this series on May 30 when we simulate the month of June.

Other notable stats:

Jon Lester (5-5, 3.84 ERA) — 72 2/3 innings, 67/23 K/BB ratio, 1.29 WHIP

John Lackey (7-2, 1.63 ERA) — 71 2/3 innings, 61/14 K/BB ratio, 1.00 WHIP

Kyle Hendricks (4-1, 3.58 ERA) — 65 1/3 innings, 52/16 K/BB ratio, 1.18 WHIP

Kris Bryant — nine homers, 27 RBI, two stolen bases, .281 average

Addison Russell — five homers, 20 RBI, three stolen bases, .261 average

Dexter Fowler — four homers, 22 RBI, five stolen bases, .307 average

Jason Heyward — seven homers, 25 RBI, three stolen bases, .287 average

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