3 things we've learned about the Cubs as May nears an end

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It’s been a rocky start to the 2022 season for the Cubs, but we’ve learned quite a bit about this team over the first two months of the campaign.

Ah, there’s nothing like a 20-5 drubbing at the hands of one of the worst teams in all of baseball heading into an off-day to really feel good about your club. That’s the situation the Cubs find themselves in on a rainy Friday here in Chicago.

The next 10 or so days are a make-or-break stretch for the Cubs. They either show up and make some noise against Milwaukee and St. Louis, the first and second-place teams in the NL Central, or they accept their fates as sellers and non-factors heading into the summer months.

Here are a few things we’ve already learned about this team – both good and bad – that can give you some things to keep an eye on heading into this critical part of the schedule.

Cubs starting pitching has been all over the place early in 2022

We knew back when the season started: Chicago would only go as far as its rotation carried it. So far, that’s been to an 18-26 mark – good for fourth in the division. The struggles we saw from Kyle Hendricks in 2021 have carried over into 2022. He rates poorly in almost every conceivable metric, is allowing consistent hard contact and can’t keep the ball on the ground to save his life.

Marcus Stroman, the team’s big offseason signing, missed a good chunk of time due to COVID, and is still working to bounce back from a pair of rough early season starts that have inflated his numbers. Justin Steele has shown brief glimpses of what he’s capable of, but inconsistency has plagued him, and he comes out of Thursday’s abbreviated start carrying a 5.40 ERA in nine starts.

Drew Smyly has been quietly reliable at the back end of the rotation and, in just three starts, Wade Miley has been exactly what the doctor ordered. The only problem there is that both are veterans on one-year deals and are almost guaranteed to be shipped off ahead of the trade deadline in early August. When that happens, the question becomes: where then will the Cubs turn for innings?

Cubs have some pieces they could (but likely won’t) build around

As Seiya Suzuki works through the learning curve that comes with playing at the big league level for the first time, the Cubs have gotten some solid production in other areas. Ian Happ and Willson Contreras lead the team in OPS this season and both could be long-term building blocks.

Of course, the likelihood of that happening feels slim given the front office’s history of failing to extend homegrown players. Contreras could prove to be the single most valuable trade chip on the market this summer if he keeps hitting and stays healthy. Happ, meanwhile, at least to me, needs to maintain what he’s done in the first two months throughout the summer to show that long-awaited consistency we’ve all wanted to see.

Whether or not Chicago sees Nico Hoerner as the shortstop of the future remains to be seen, but, regardless, he’s done a lot of things right this year. You’d like the bat to show a bit more pop in the coming months, but any questions about his glove work at the position have been definitively answered.

Patrick Wisdom will continue to be solid at the hot corner and flex his tremendous power. You know what you’re going to get in a player like this. The jury still seems to be out on Frank Schwindel, though. After a brutal start to the year, he rebounded nicely following a pseudo-demotion to Triple-A and has an .855 OPS over the last two weeks.

Cubs have assembled a quality bullpen – one that will be sold off in pieces

In recent years, the Chicago front office has been masterful in its pursuit of veteran relievers looking to re-establish value. This year has been no exception, with David Robertson, Mychal Givens playing key roles in the bullpen. That same veteran-focused approach has also paid off in the rotation with Miley and Smyly having solid seasons to this point, as well.

Hoyer has mixed those experienced arms with guys like Keegan Thompson, Ethan Roberts (before he went down with an injury), Rowan Wick, Scott Effross and Brandon Hughes – with more reinforcements waiting in the wings in the farm system. Most notably, Caleb Kilian looks like he’s knocking on the door, ready to bring the dominance he’s shown at Triple-A to the big league level.

You can just about guarantee the likes of Robertson, Givens, Smyly and Miley are playing somewhere else before the season ends. That’s going to open up a lot of innings on David Ross’ staff and you’re going to see a merry-go-round of arms cycling through to fill the void left.

Next. Re-grading last summer's fateful trade deadline sell-off. dark

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I’m telling you that now because it’s not going to be all roses and sunshine. The team will likely use the second half to let guys audition for a spot on the 2023 team and, in doing so, we’re going to see some tumultuous outings. But if Hoyer does half as well on trading these guys as he did during last summer’s sell-off, the future will be bright.

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