Guardians Baseball Insider

Quality of Opposition (QoO) numbers per Baseball Reference

CUBS PITCHERS (PROJECTIONS PER FanGraphs)

Jake Arrieta (1st-4th innings): MLB #2 starter
Dillon Maples (5th inning): MLB middle reliever
Keegan Thompson (6th inning): Triple-A starter
Brandon Workman (7th inning): MLB 8th-inning setup man
Jason Adam (8th inning): MLB middle reliever
Trevor Megill (9th inning): Triple-A reliever

STARTERS

Amed Rosario (CF): 0-3, 2 K – The key for Rosario yesterday was the lack of errors as he continues to acclimate to center field. Ironically, he led off the bottom of the first by getting on base via an Ildemaro Vargas fielding error at third.

Bradley Zimmer (DH): 0-3, 1 R, 1 HBP – Zimmer couldn’t match his multi-hit effort from Tuesday, getting on base only via plunkage.

Bobby Bradley (1B): 0-3, 2 K – Bradley, who had struck out only three times in 22 plate appearances against 6.5 (slightly below Double-A) pitching, struck out twice in his first three trips to the plate on Thursday, both against major leaguers (Arrieta and Maples).

Daniel Johnson (RF): 3-4, 1 RBI – Johnson singled off of Arrieta, Thompson, and Adam, which is not surprising considering his 1.086 (now 1.165) OPS against Triple-A (7.9) pitching entering yesterday’s contest.

Owen Miller (2B): 3-4, 1 2B, 1 K – Miller also had a three-hit day off the same pitchers, except with a double against Adam.

Tyler Freeman (SS): 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K – Freeman has dominated (1.405 OPS) against 6.5 pitching, but struggled yesterday against better competition.

Tyler Krieger (3B): 1-4, 1 2B, 3 K, 1 E – Krieger, who had a .762 OPS against 7.3 (Double-A) pitching through Wednesday, only had one hit yesterday, but it was a third-inning double off of Arrieta.

RESERVES

Steven Kwan (LF-CF): 2-2, 1 R, 1 SB – Kwan’s six total bases this spring have come in three games with two each. Two of those games have happened in the last two days. Yesterday was the first time he did it with a multi-hit game (off of Workman and Megill) instead of a double.

Brayan Rocchio (PH): 1-1 – Rocchio hit a grounder to right for a single in bottom of the ninth for his first hit of the spring.

Connor Marabell (LF): 0-1 – Marabell continues to struggle (.444 OPS against 4.6 pitching through Wednesday). Best thing you can say about this at-bat is that a Triple-A projectee got him out.

Will Benson (RF): 0-1, 1 K – Benson struck out swinging to end the game in his only at-bat.

Bo Naylor (C): 0-1, 1 K – Naylor has struck out three times in ten at-bats this spring (6.3 QoO entering yesterday, when he was struck out by Adam).

The following players entered the game as pinch runers in the eighth inning and did not come to the plate:

Richard Palacios (PR-2B): no stats – Palacios has quickly started seeing regular, if minimal, playing time since his Cactus League debut on Tuesday.

Jose Fermin (PR-SS): 1 SB – Fermin stole his first base of the spring on Thursday.

PITCHERS

Trevor Stephan: 1 IP, 1 BB – Stephan’s fifth scoreless outing out of six this spring (and second in a row) seems to indicate that his disastrous inning last Friday against the Dodgers (4 H, 2 ER, 1 HR allowed) was likely the exception and that his chances of making the team look extremely good, especially considering his Rule 5 status. For those wondering, Stephan pitched against a trio of likely Triple-A players and one Double-A projectee (elite OF prospect Brennen Davis, who drew the two-out walk that was the only blemish on this stat line).