Two potential breakout stars for Cubs in 2024 |
When you look at the Cubs, the past three seasons have been about getting rid of the past to focus on a brighter future. At times, the results were horrid as the wins were tough to come by, but that is all part of the plan, especially when you count on as many young guys as they have.
Even with the bad comes the good, as the Cubs took their lumps head-on and continued to strive for the future. The results saw them improve from 2021 to 2022 and then again from 2022 to 2023, where they finished with their first winning season since the COVID-shortened season and their first full season winning season since 2019. With those steps being made, the progress has been on full display, but now it is up to this team to take the next step and become a contender yet again. By adding Craig Counsell to the mix, the Cubs feel they have the right manager for the job, but now must give him the talent to work with. The problem is figuring out where that talent will come from, as the Cubs have yet to sign a free agent to an MLB contract this offseason, creating a lot of uproar among the fans. Looking at this current roster, Yan Gomes, Miguel Amaya, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Nick Madrigal, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki appear to be the locks come opening day. Still, unless the Cubs make some significant moves quickly, this team will be put in a challenging position where they need to rely on the young kids again. That hasn't been a problem for this team in recent seasons, nor has it been for Counsell in Milwaukee, but for this team to go where they want to go, it will take more than young prospects to get the job done. Even with the loaded system expected to yield a better future, the Cubs have some young pieces that started to break out last season and could become significant X-Factors this season in Christopher Morel and Javier Assad. Morel is the most familiar name among the two and is someone that Counsell has already said needs to be part of this lineup every day. The problem is finding an ideal spot for him, as he isn't a great defender at any position, and the ones he is good at are occupied by better players. That is why many feel he will be the Cubs' opening-day DH, as just having his bat in the lineup will make a massive difference. Look at last season, for example. After going down to AAA to begin the Season, Morel flat-out raked in his 30 games, hitting .303 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs. His surprising power surge translated to the MLB, where he finished tied for the team lead with 26 Homers while driving in 70. Combine his AAA and MLB numbers, and Morel hit .271 with 37 homers and 97 RBIs, which is all you can ask from an everyday player. The offensive numbers are there and the ceiling has yet to be reached for Morel, but the high strikeout numbers and inability to field consistently have made it difficult to insert him into an everyday lineup. Counsell is making it his mission to change that, as adding his bat to this lineup will be huge.
From a pitching side, there were a lot of names to choose from in terms of a potential X-Factor, but you have to look at Assad as the one breakout candidate. Primarily a starter for much of his minor league career, Assad was one of the final roster additions to this team out of spring and was expected to take over the Alec Mills role last season.
After struggling for the better part of five weeks, the Cubs sent Assad back to AAA with the intention of stretching him back out to become a stater. The timing of that couldn't have been more perfect as Marcus Stroman went down with an injury just a few weeks later, paving the way for Assad to return to the team as a starter. Not only did he return, but he was the team's best starter in July and emerged as a reliable back-of-the-rotation option all season.
Assad appeared in 32 games (10 starts) for the season and posted a 5-3 mark with a 3.05 ERA. That includes a 5-2 record as a starter with a 2.70 ERA as Assad started to figure things out on the mound. He is now 7-5 with a 3.10 ERA in 41 games (18 starts) at the MLB level, and this could be just the beginning for him.
Not a hard thrower by any means, Assad tends to sit in the 91-93 MPH with his fastball, but he was hitting 95-plus late in the year. He pairs that with an above-average Cutter at 88 MPH and an ever-improving 87 MPH slider to give him three pitches to work with. Should he use his change-up more frequently this season, Assad could become one of the better back-of-the-rotation arms in baseball, as he will be in the mix for one of the final two starting spots this spring.
