Ranking the 4 biggest Chicago Cubs spring training questions

St Louis Cardinals v Chicago Cubs
St Louis Cardinals v Chicago Cubs | Matt Dirksen/GettyImages
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Hayden Wesneski
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4 biggest Chicago Cubs spring training questions: #1- What will the starting rotation look like?

When it comes to the starting rotation, you can lock Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon and Justin Steele into the first three spots for now. After that, multiple questions need to be answered. What is the health status of Kyle Hendricks? If he presumably does start on the IL, is Drew Smyly a lock for the rotation? Is he regardless of Hendricks' status? If Smyly is your fourth starter, who are the leading candidates to watch for the fifth spot?

The Cubs are fortunate to have an incredible amount of pitching depth this year. Adrian Sampson, Keegan Thompson, Adbert Alzolay, and even Javier Assad can step in and take the ball, as needed, or even play that swing role out of the pen. More importantly, though, for the last four months, I've been exceptionally intrigued by the upside of Hayden Wesneski after what we witnessed from him at the end of 2022.

Given the ridiculous movement on his pitches, it's safe to say that Wesneski didn't just find success by means of luck. If he continues where he left off when Cactus League action kicks off, I'd love to see him immediately placed in that fifth spot alongside Stroman, Taillon, Steele and Smyly - giving Hendricks some more time to get back to 100 percent.

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