3 Under the Radar X-Factors for the Cubs in 2019
All eyes will be on the likes of Yu Darvish, Kris Bryant, and Brandon Morrow to have bounce-back seasons but these under the radar players can be huge for the Cubs in 2019.
For a team that won 95 games in 2018 and had the best record in the National League 72 hours before their playoff demise, the Cubs have a lot of ifs and questions to be answered. We’ve heard the biggest questions all offseason. Will Kris Bryant’s shoulder continue to affect his swing? Is Yu Darvish finally healthy after starting only 8 games last year? Can Brandon Morrow stay healthy enough to be the difference maker at the back end of the bullpen as the Cubs hoped when they signed him? These are all important questions but a championship team is a team with depth and one that gets production from somewhat unexpected places.
Let’s dive in…..
X-Factor #1: Mike Montgomery.
For a man that recorded the biggest out in the history of a historic franchise as the Chicago Cubs, under the radar is not a typical term to describe the tall lefty. But with all of the talent on this pitching staff, he has a tendency to get lost in the shuffle.
With the return of Yu Darvish after a season in which he only pitched 40 innings for the Cubs, it is to be expected that the Cubs will do the best they can to ease Darvish back in and protect him for stretch run. This makes Montgomery that much more valuable to the Cubs as someone that can be a good lefty reliever as well as someone you can give the ball to every fifth day in the case of an injury. In 19 starts for the Cubs in 2018, Montgomery went 5–5 with a 3.69 ERA in 97 2/3 innings.
Barring any injuries or extremely poor performance from the rest of the starting staff, Montgomery will be expected to be a fixture in the Cubs bullpen as one of the main lefty options for Joe Maddon while surely getting a few starts over the 162 game marathon.
X-Factor #2: Brandon Kintzler
After being a solid closer and late inning reliever for the Twins and Nationals for 2016 through the first half of 2018, Kintzler never seemed to put it all together with the Cubs after being acquired at the trade deadline. Known for his sinker and inducing ground balls, Kintzler carried a 3.59 ERA in 42 2/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.2 at the time he was acquired by the Cubs. However, he pitched to the tune of an ERA of 7.00 in 18 innings allowing nearly as many earned runs in those 18 innings (14 ER) as he did in the 42 innings before being acquired (17 ER).
With Brandon Morrow’s health always in question but especially since he will begin the season on the injured list (formerly known as the disabled list), the rest of the bullpen will need to step up. Pedro Strop will be expected to close while Morrow is out and ineffectiveness has been a problem for Carl Edwards Jr. in the past so the Cubs will need another reliable late-inning reliever to emerge. Getting a bounce-back season out of Kintzler would be huge for the Cubs bullpen and would give Madden many more options once the bullpen is completely healthy.
X-Factor #3: David Bote
David Bote came flying onto the scenes in 2018 and helped fill the void of Kris Bryant’s injury adequately. He came up with some monster hits like the magical walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th off of Ryan Madson and the Nationals. Bote slashed .239/.319/.408 with 5 of his 6 home runs being game-tying or game-winning home runs. Along with the offensive production, Bote played very well defensively and provided the Cubs with much needed versatility on the infield.
Due to the remaining 28 games of Addison Russell’s 40 game domestic violence suspension and the surprising demotion of Ian Happ to AAA Iowa, David Bote will surely get opportunities to contribute. The lack of Spring Training at-bats for Daniel Descalso due to his injury could pave the way for Bote to get a large number of starts at 2B to start the season. His ability to play everywhere on the infield as an above average defender gives Joe Maddon more lineup flexibility or a good option off the bench late in a close game.
David Bote is not a game changing type player but he is the type of player that can provide great value and the type of player that makes a good team, great. He will get plenty of opportunities throughout the course of the year, but the biggest opportunity is here and now and it is up to Bote to take advantage of it.
Stephen Sciaraffa is currently a graduate student at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. Born in Chicago, Stephen spends his free time following the Cubs and taking in games at beautiful Wrigley Field with his dad. You can add him on twitter here
