3 important things we've learned about the Chicago Cubs at the season's 30% mark

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Less than a week out from Memorial Day, the Chicago Cubs are just 1 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central, despite suffering what feels like more injuries than every other team in baseball.

The club should get some reinforcements this week in the form of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, two critical cogs in the machine, which will hopefully help jump start an offense that has cooled dramatically of late, batting just .182/.266/.310 over the last seven days.

So what have we learned about this team two months in? Let's dig a little deeper and hone in on some key takeaways we've garnered from watching the team so far this season.

Cubs starting rotation is loaded with unexpected breakout performers

Heading into the year, if I told you the Cubs were just out of first in late May because the rotation had pitched well, you would have assumed Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks had stepped up and held their own.

Well, all three men have spent time on the IL, with Steele having made just four starts and Taillon six. Taillon has been solid, while Steele is still looking for his rhythm on the mound. Hendricks is dangerously close to, at the very least losing his spot in the rotation and maybe the 26-man roster due to poor performance.

Instead, it's been newcomer Shota Imanaga who has put the team on his back, emerging as a legitimate NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young front-runner, making history in his first nine MLB starts. And don't sleep on what Javier Assad has done, pitching to the third-best starter's ERA in the league in his first nine outings.

Injuries have sidelined depth pieces like Jordan Wicks and Drew Smyly, and losses in the bullpen have pulled Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski into relief roles of late. But, all told, the rotation has exceeded any and all expectations, with its best performances coming from some unanticipated places.

Miguel Amaya's bat hasn't taken that next step as the Cubs had hoped

Assuming that, once healthy, the Cubs lineup will get back to putting up runs on a daily basis, Counsell and the front office will likely be OK with the lack of offense they're getting from their catchers the plate given the work Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya have done behind the dish.

Entering action Tuesday, Amaya has a 50 OPS+, meaning he's been 50 percent worse than league average with the bat. His Baseball Savant page doesn't offer much cause for optimism in any of the underlying metrics, either, hardly an encouraging sign for the former top prospect.

The hope was that this would be the year Amaya ascended to the throne, if you will, emerging as a clear-cut answer behind the plate. After all, Gomes is in the final year of the three-year deal he inked with the team prior to the 2022 campaign and is 36 years old, meaning this is likely his last-go round with the team.

Factor in that Gomes has somehow been even worse than Amaya with the bat (36 OPS+ in 68 plate appearances) and it's pretty clear the Cubs have a problem behind the plate. Maybe Moises Ballesteros forces the team's hand at some point? Otherwise, expect a catcher to be on the team's wish list, if not this summer, then definitely next winter.

When healthy, Cody Bellinger is setting the tone for the Cubs offense

Losing Cody Bellinger for a nice chunk of time due to a rib injury certainly offered an inauspicious start to the contract he inked with the Cubs late in the offseason, but the former Rookie of the Year and MVP has somewhat quietly been a driving force in the lineup when he's been on the field.

Bellinger leads all Cubs hitters with at least 100 plate appearances with a 133 OPS+ on the season. He's been particularly good about avoiding the strikeout (he ranks in the 86th percentile) and has been drawing plenty of walks, too. Most of his batted ball metrics are on par with what he did in his 2023 Comeback Player of the Year campaign, another promising sign.

He's been lethal at Wrigley, with an OPS north of .900 and he's really found his stroke since returning from the IL here in May, slashing .327/.377/.571. More often than not, how Bellinger goes so goes the Chicago Cubs, so if the supporting cast around him can get healthy, we could be in for another summer of Belli bombs in the bleachers at the Friendly Confines.

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