Cubs News: Handing out midseason grades for the 2020 season

As we’ve reached the halfway mark of this 2020 season, here we hand out midseason grades for Chicago Cubs players.

The Chicago Cubs have reached the midway point of this abbreviated 2020 season. They are in first place in the NL Central with a mark of 18-12. While that’s something to be happy about overall, they’re in a stretch where they’ve gone 5-9 following a 13-3 start.

In terms of individual performances, the results have been mixed. Here, we hand out midseason grades for Cubs players. We’ll start with the pitchers, then move on to the position players.

Dan Winkler: B+. The expectations weren’t that high for Winkler when he came over from the Atlanta Braves this offseason, and he got off to a bit of a rough start this year when he gave up a run in three of his first four outings. However, he’s currently working on a stretch of five straight scoreless appearances covering six innings. Walks are still an issue; he’s given up eight in 9 1/3 innings.

Colin Rea: B-. In his one start, he gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings against Milwaukee on August 15. Out of the bullpen, he’s given up just two runs in seven innings of work. While he’s likely not a long-term solution as a starter, perhaps Rea could have some value moving forward as a mop-up guy or long reliever.

Duane Underwood Jr.: F. This was supposed to be a season in which Underwood would hopefully break through at the major league level, and there was a lot of optimism coming into the season. Instead, he’s given up runs in six of his nine appearances, five of those being multiple runs. Time is running out for Underwood to figure it out for this team.

Kyle Ryan: C-. Ryan has been called on ten times and given up runs in just three of those outings, but his ERA of 6.23 has to be a disappointment after he was expected to take on a big role in the bullpen this year. He almost blew two games, August 1 against Pittsburgh and August 4 against Kansas City, but the team managed to escape with a win both times. The Cubs could use the 2019 version of Ryan in the second half.

Chicago Cubs: More relief pitchers

Casey Sadler: C. The Cubs may have gotten a bargain when they acquired Sadler this past offseason, as he was coming off a solid 2019 season, but this year the results have been mixed. It’s been more good than bad, but he’s given up multiple runs in two of his last three appearances following a nice start. Hopefully, this is just a hiccup for him.

Ryan Tepera: B. His rough outing against Detroit on Wednesday has inflated his ERA, but if we take that away, Tepera has been a nice find, as he did have eight straight scoreless outings before that. He’s also not walking people, as he’s allowed just two free passes all year in 11 2/3 innings of work. Hopefully, that last outing was just an aberration.

Jeremy Jeffress: A. Jeffress has been a tremendous buy-low pickup for this team following a subpar season in Milwaukee last year. David Ross has not been afraid to use him in high-leverage situations, and for the most part, Jeffress has come through, allowing just two earned runs in 12 1/3 innings of work. All but one of his appearances have come in Cubs wins. He’s been the MVP of the bullpen to this point.

Rowan Wick: B-. Like Ryan, Wick was supposed to be a key member of this bullpen after coming off a breakthrough 2019 season. There’s been more good than bad, as he only allowed one run in his first eight appearances. However, he’s given up multiple runs in each of his last two, inflating his overall ERA to 5.00. Ross clearly trusts him in clutch situations; let’s hope Wick can bounce back from this recent setback.

Craig Kimbrel: D. He’s spared a failing grade because he’s shown some progress recently, but it was once again a rough go of it at the beginning of the season, as he gave up runs in each of his first four appearances. While he’s struck out 13 in 7 1/3 innings, he’s also walking far too many (nine overall, though four were in one appearance). He still has a lot of work to do to fully earn the confidence of Ross.

Chicago Cubs: Starting pitchers

Tyler Chatwood: C-. Two great outings to start the season have been followed by two bad ones sandwiched around an IL stint. On August 6, he got pounded in Kansas City, while on August 25 against Detroit control was an issue as he walked five batters and only recorded four outs. Which Chatwood will we see moving forward? In any case, the team needs him to turn it around.

Alec Mills: B. Mills got off to a great start but has come back down to earth a little bit lately. Overall his five starts have been serviceable, which is what you want from a number five starter. The fact that he’s gone at least six innings in four of his five starts has meant a lot to the team. The Cubs could use more quality innings from Mills moving forward, especially if Jose Quintana does indeed stay in the bullpen.

Jon Lester: B-. We’d like to see the Cubs get a little more length from Lester, as he hasn’t gone more than six innings in any of his starts. Yet four of his six outings have been great, with a couple of bad ones mixed in. At this point in his career, we knew coming into the season that his days of being an ace were over, so I suppose what we’ve seen from Lester so far is probably what we’re going to get moving forward.

Yu Darvish: A. Take away that first so-so outing against Milwaukee to start the season and Darvish has been phenomenal, one of the game’s most valuable starting pitchers to this point. He’s allowed one or zero runs in each of his last five outings while going at least six innings each time, and he’s continued to keep the walks down — just six in 37 innings of work. He appears to be emerging as this team’s ace.

Kyle Hendricks: B+. Hendricks appears to have settled in as a mid-3.00’s ERA pitcher, which is exactly where he is again this year. He really has only had one rough outing this year, July 29 in Cincinnati. His last two outings haven’t been phenomenal, allowing three runs each time, but he’s at least been keeping his team in the game, which is what you want out of a starting pitcher. He’s also only walked four batters in 38 innings.

Chicago Cubs: Position players

Josh Phegley: F. Granted, Phegley is a third-string catcher, and it’s been hard to find him playing time despite the fact that he quietly drove in 62 runs for Oakland last year. Still, when Phegley has gotten to the plate, he’s struggled, getting just one hit (a home run) in 16 at-bats. If Phegley can turn it around, he would have a lot of value off the bench.

Steven Souza Jr.: D. He’s injured right now, so it’s hard to give a fair assessment, but in his attempt to come back this year Souza was not having a lot of success at the plate. He’s struck out ten times in 24 plate appearances while batting just 4-for-21 — though three of his four hits have been for extra bases. He could still have a lot of value as a bench player and corner outfielder if indeed he can come back.

Albert Almora Jr.: D. After taking a major step backward last year, Almora still isn’t hitting again this year, as he’s gone 5-for-27 with only one extra-base hit (a double). That OPS of .513 is even worst than last year’s .651 mark; though it’s been in limited duty, it’s still pretty discouraging and has to make us wonder whether we are indeed seeing his final days in a Cubs uniform. At least the defense in center field has been better.

Jason Kipnis: B+. Kipnis has turned out to be a nice addition to this team. The expectations were pretty low, as no one seemed to want him for most of the offseason and it looked like his best days were behind him. However, in part-time duty, he’s posted a very good OPS of .923, which includes drawing 13 walks and seven extra-base hits. Moving forward, he could also be a team leader off the field.

Victor Caratini: B. Though the OPS is down from last year (.710 from .794) due largely to the fact that he’s not hitting for power, Caratini has still proved to be a more-than-capable backup catcher, DH, and hitter off the bench. Ross has been giving Caratini lots of playing time, and he’s taken advantage by providing a lot of good at-bats. It’s a good thing the team hasn’t decided to move him yet, as he’s become especially valuable with the DH slot now in the NL.

Chicago Cubs: More position players

David Bote: B. This one is somewhat hard to judge. Somehow, Bote leads the team in RBIs with 17, as he continues to establish a reputation as a guy who can come through in big situations. Yet the batting average and OBP are down significantly from last year. With Kris Bryant missing time due to injury, Bote has been asked to take on a bigger role, and the results have been mixed. He is playing a capable third base.

Nico Hoerner: B-. This one’s also difficult to give a fair assessment on because I still feel like Hoerner was rushed to the big leagues last year (albeit out of necessity). He’s shown some flashes of being a good major league hitter, though there’s still some work to do for him to get where he needs to be. This year, he’s drawing more walks than he did last year, though he’s hitting for less power.

Ian Happ: A. Happ has been the Cubs’ most consistent hitter to this point. He’s tied for the team lead in home runs (six) and second in RBIs (15) while his .986 OPS is by far the best on the team. The best part is that he’s drawn an incredible 21 walks so far, which also leads the team. Oh, and he’s also played some pretty good defense in the outfield, being willing to play wherever Ross puts him.

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Jason Heyward: B+. Heyward is actually third on the team in OPS, behind Happ and Kipnis, which is as much a testament to how bad some of the regulars have struggled as it is to how well he’s played. Still, that mark would be the best he’s put up since his rookie season of 2010. Last year, he showed flashes of improving as a hitter and has continued to do so this year. Again, he won’t be a star, but he’s at least been a decent contributor.

Kyle Schwarber: C-. Though he’s tied with Happ for the team lead in home runs, and he’s shown some improvement as an outfielder, Schwarber so far has taken a big step backward at the plate after a promising second half last year. His OPS has fallen to .768, which would be the worst mark of his career (excluding his very brief 2016 campaign). Last year, he really looked locked in the second half; this year, it just doesn’t look like he’s attacking the ball the same way.