Chicago Cubs and The Show 20 simulation is here

Welcome to the Show! Let’s see if our beloved Chicago Cubs can win the ultimate goal and win the World Series in this year’s season simulation

When you think of spring, you think of freshly-cut grass, warmer temperatures, and, most importantly, the return of America’s past time. The offseason provided quite a shakeup, with big names taking big money and heading to new places that see the league full of a new batch of contenders and pretenders. Although the Chicago Cubs didn’t do a whole lot of buying this offseason, we did, however, see some familiar faces go to different teams.

The most important question, however, will the Cubs perform through to the end of the year? Luckily, we here at Cubbies Crib have the technology to try and answer that. Thanks to MLB The Show 20, we have simulated the entire season and prove if the Cubs can achieve the dream of a World Series title under rookie manager David Ross.

Before we get started, there are a couple of guidelines:

• The simulation was completed using live rosters as of March 17, 2020
• No user games were played.
• No user transactions were made to the rosters.

Chicago Cubs: Things begin in the spring

To start this simulation with non-other than spring training. This is where athletes who are not currently on the team, make a name for themself. As we skimmed through the spring training games, the Cubs went 13-14 overall. Kris Bryant led the whole Major League with a .417 batting average. Bryant also had the second-best on-base % percentage in league with .512 percent.

Along with Bryant, the 24-year-old first baseman Jared Young tied Bryant with a .417 batting average. Young only had twelve at-bats during spring training; in those at-bats, he went 5/12 with two home runs and five RBI. You can already tell that Young could play a role later on in the year. Another Cub who had an excellent spring training was center fielder Ian Happ who tied with Javier Baez for most home runs (5) on the team. Happ had a slugging percentage of .618 that is second to Bryant’s .694 percentage.

Defensively for the Cubs tied with the Miami Marlins for 18th with 235 assists this spring. Baez led the charge is assists as he racked up 55 of them. Newly acquired Jason Kipnis was close behind as he tallied 49 assists this spring. Cubs were 19th with 721 led by Wilson Contreras (191), Anthony Rizzo (164), and Kyle Schwarber (48). The Cubs were tied for 22nd in the league as they committed 14 errors in their 27 spring training games.

Chicago Cubs

Pitching for the Cubs, this spring training was outstanding. Yu Darvish led the way with a 2.55 ERA, Kyle Hendricks closely followed with a 3.09 ERA. As a team, the Cubs shutout opponents four times during spring training. Relief pitcher Dan Winkler was the only Cub to record a save this spring, Winkler recorded nine saves.

The Cubs finished seventh in the league, with only 212 hits allowed. They finished fifth as they only allowed 95 runs during the 27 games. The walks weren’t quite as bad as they could have been, as they had the 4th best with 79 walks allowed. Darvish led the team with 39 strikeouts as the Cubs finished with 219, which tied them for 16th with the Colorado Rockies.

While some have breakout stat lines and performances, others don’t have a great spring. One of the Cubs who didn’t have a great spring was catcher Miguel Amaya who finished spring training with one hit out of his 15 at-bats, giving him a team-worst .067 batting average. Besides Amaya, six other Cubs hit below a .200 batting average.

Top prospect Nico Hoerner went 4/28 in the 27 games that he appeared in. Catcher P.J. Higgins also went 4/28 and hit for a .143 batting average. Starting left fielder Schwarber only was successful 11 out of the 70 times; he went to the plate. David Bote and Albert Almora Jr. didn’t have a great spring either as they went a combined 18/106, giving them a combined average of .169 at the plate.

Chicago Cubs: Making the cut

As spring training comes to an end, here is who made the big league starting roster with the Chicago Cubs. The starting rotation included Hendricks, Darvish, Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Tyler Chatwood get the final spot. The righty Winkler out duels Craig Kimbrel for the closer role.

As for the starting lineup against right-handers, Javier Baez gets the nod for the leadoff spot. Baez is followed by Heyward, Bryant, Contreras,  Rizzo, Schwarber, Happ, Kipnis and last but not least, the pitcher’s spot. Against lefties Baez is still leading off; he is followed by Bote, who takes over second base. Following Bote is Bryant, Contreras, Rizzo, Schwarber, Steven Souza Jr., Albert Almora Jr., and finally, the pitcher’s spot.

Chicago Cubs: Not looking so good (Late March-May)

The Cubs began their 2020 campaign on the road in a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the five games in late March, the Cubs won three out the five as they scored 32 runs. In March, the Cubs are currently setting in third place in the central standings, trailing the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates as they both have a 4-1 record.

In April, the Cubs played 19 out of their 27 games at Wrigley Field. Only one game in April as we see the Cubs trade centerfielder Donnie Dewees to the Los Angeles Angels for third basemen Jordan Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, who is 25, was sent down to Double-A with the Tennessee Smokies. As we just finished the third out of four games against the Pirates, our front office made some more transactions. The Angels once again traded with the Cubs this time. Trent Giambrone was sent to L.A. for left fielder Joantge Segovia, but shortly later, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Segovia from the Cubs for another third baseman Nolan Gorman.

Chicago Cubs: Busy month of April

As April looks like to be a busy month, the Cubs are only 26 games into their season and have already made four different trades. The fourth trade was between the Phillies as the Cubs agreed to trade top prospect, Nico Hoerner, for starting pitcher Spencer Howard.

Currently, towards the end of April, the Cubs have lost 10 games out of the 27 games. Seven out the ten losses were in a streak between April 19-26. They ended their final homestand in April with a sweep of the Pirates. Currently, the Cubs are three games back in the National League Central behind the Reds.

The month of May started with a record of 1-11 in their first 12 games losing 2/3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals. May was not a good month for the Cubs as injuries started to plague the Cubs. Darvish is out 1-2 months with a broken ankle, center fielder Brennan Davis (Double-A) is out 5-6 months with a torn ACL. You would consider the month of May a losing month because the Cubs have only won nine games this month as they fell more behind now, sitting at 71/2 games back.

At the end of May, the Cubs sit at a 27-33 record and are in third place behind the Brewers and Reds. Bryant leads the team in home runs (14), RBI (36), Slugging (.557%), Doubles (18) and 127 total bases. Pitching for the Cubs, there is a three-way tie for the leader in wins with Hendricks, Alec Mills, and Lester. Hendricks also leads the team with 61 strikeouts and has two shutouts and two complete games in the 13 games he has pitched.

Chicago Cubs: The Final Push (August -September)

Its beginning to look like a disappointing year as the Cubs only record 11 wins throughout August. Two of their 11 wins were against the Reds in which they shut them out in both games. The first game against the Reds was a great one, beating them by the score of 8-0 as Cotton gets his sixth win of the year.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

The second game against the Reds, the score was 1-0 as Chatwood gets the win, Kimbrel gets the hold, and Winkler gets his 31st save of the year. The Cubs ended August 20 games back from the Reds and have a record of 65-73.

It’s now or never when it comes to September. You have the opportunity to call people up to help boost your club or get them some time in the Major League. Like the previous months of the season, the Cubs did not execute like they should of. They did, however, sweep the Reds at home and Pittsburgh at home. Unfortunately, the Chicago Cubs finished third in the Central Division with a record of 81-81, which is not good enough to make the playoffs this year.

Chicago Cubs Final Stats

Team Leaders (Place in the National League)

• Batting Average – Jason Heyward (6th) – .309
• Hits – Kris Bryant (tied 16th) – 169, Doubles (5th) – 41, Triples (11th) – 6, Home Runs (tied 8th) – 32,
• At-Bats – Javier Baez (3rd) – 625, Stolen Bases (13th) – 18
• Walks – Kyle Schwarber (tied 7th) – 89
• Wins – Kyle Hendricks (tied 10th) – 15, ERA (23rd) – 3.48, Strikeouts (29th) – 166
• Saves – Dan Winkler (10th) – 39

Chicago Cubs Awards and All-Stars

First baseman Anthony Rizzo was named an All-Star this year as the National League defeated the American League 6-0. Unfourtantly no one from the Cubs won any season awards.

2020 National League Central Final Standings:

Cincinnati Reds (98-64)

Milwaukee Brewers (86-76)

Chicago Cubs (81-81)

St. Louis Cardinals (70-92)

Pittsburgh Pirates (60-102)

2020 Postseason

In the 2020 postseason, the San Diego Padres outlasted the Diamondbacks in the National League Wild Card. The Padres would go on to face Los Angeles Dodgers in one half of the National League Division Series (NLDS), which they defeated them in four games, winning the series three games to one.

In the other half of the NLDS, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the defending champions Washington Nationals three games to one. They now take on the Padres in the National League Championship Series. Unfourtantly the Padres season came to an end as the Reds took down them in five games (4-1), winning and advancing to the World Series.

On the American League side, last year’s runner up the Houston Astros defeated Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees 5-2 in the American League Wild Card game. The Astros would go on to face Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels in the Division Series but fell short as they lost in five games (3-2).

The other half of the American League Divison Series, the Minnesota Twins, didn’t have quite enough juice as they lost to the Boston Red Sox three games to one. In five games, the Boston Red Sox defeated Los Angeles Angels (4-1) to advance to the World Series and face the Reds.

The World Series

In the World Series between the Reds and Red Sox, we see the Reds take an early lead as they shut out the Red Sox in both Game 1 (4-0) and in Game 2 (5-0). Trevor Bauer pitched an absolute gem in Game 2 as he pitched eight innings and struck out ten batters.

The Reds would continue their winning ways as they won a close game in Game 3, beating Cincinnati 8-7. Finally, in Game 4, the final game of the 2020 season as the Reds win a close 6-5 match sending the American League champions home empty-handed, sealing their sixth World Series title, and their first title since 1990.

Sad News Alert: At the end of the 2020 season, after 14 years in the pros starting pitcher Jon Lester retires from the sport of baseball due to his ability. He finished his 14th year with a 6-15 record, striking out 121 batters in 1611/3 innings pitched, giving him an ERA of 5.63 the worst of his career. He started the season as a 79 overall and finished the 2020 season as a 68 overall.