Brewers' probables against Cubs highlights biggest difference between two rivals

Riding a four-game winning streak, and winners of seven of their last ten, the Chicago Cubs have momentum on their side while entering a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. At the same time, this series is a reminder of what the Brewers have that the Cubs don't, and the biggest problem moving forward for the North Siders.

Lined up for the series, the Brewers have Jacob Misiorowski pitching on Friday, Kyle Harrison on Saturday, and Brandon Woodruff on Sunday. It's a reminder of the situation the Cubs were facing last October in the NLDS when the Brewers had their rotation perfectly lined up, and Craig Counsell was scrambling to put his pitching staff together.

Meanwhile, the Cubs probables this weekend don't instill much confidence. Colin Rea will be pitching on Friday, with recently acquired David Peterson likely starting on Saturday, and the to be determined on Sunday. Bryse Wilson, recently claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies, would seem like the option for Sunday's game.

The injuries to Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown has collapsed rotation that was barely holding. As the Cubs have stressed in the aftermath of the injuries and the trade for Peterson, if they can survive until the All-Star break, there's some hope they will be fine after that. That's around the time the Cubs can expect to have Jameson Taillon back in the rotation, and hopefully, a meaningful update on Cabrera's status.

Cubs' weakness against the Brewers couldn't be more obvious

Now, to be fair to the Cubs, while injuries are a part of the game and expected, it's hard to account for six starting pitchers landing on the IL at the same time. The Cubs had pitching depth at the start of the season, but injuries thinned out.

Of course, there's a case to be made that in their larger gambles for the pitching staff, perhaps the Cubs could have gone with more certainty than their upside plays for Cabrera and Hunter Harvey in the bullpen.

Meanwhile, the Brewers continue to churn out top pitching prospect after pitching prospect. And when they aren't doing that, the Brewers are taking another team's former top pitching prospect (Harrison), and turning him into a dude.

That's the biggest difference between where the Brewers are and where the Cubs want to be. Milwaukee has a clear blueprint for developing pitching that works. The Cubs are still at the drawing board, and as long as that's the case, it's hard to imagine much changing in the division.

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