To say expectations for the Cubs are rather high would be an understatement. From guarantees to predictions to projections, for the first time under Ricketts family ownership the Cubs will be expected to win games at the big league level, and a lot of them. The front office made moves this off-season focused on improving the win total of the Major League team, not to build depth in the minor league system by inking players with one purpose, to flip before the trading deadline for more … [Read more...]
PECOTA Projects an 82-Win Season for the Cubs
Baseball Prospectus released its PECOTA projections Wednesday … and PECOTA is calculating an 82-win season for the Cubs in 2015, nine more victories than a year ago. According to PECOTA, the Cubs will finish the year with an 82-80 record, second in the NL Central and a game out of the second NL Wild Card spot. PECOTA projected a 71-91 season for the team in 2014 that ended up with a 73-89 record. PECOTA thinks the Cubs will score 665 runs, give up 653 runs and finish with a .243/.309/.392 … [Read more...]
ZiPS Projections for the 2015 Chicago Cubs
As the start of Spring Training quickly approaches, projections for the upcoming season are becoming more and more prevalent. Beyond the odds in Las Vegas that are not based on past on-field performance, several outlets are projecting Joe Maddon’s team to be around .500 and possibly push for spot in the NL Wild Card Game. The latest Steamer Projections on FanGraphs sees the Cubs winning 84 games in 2015. FanGraphs posted the Cubs’ ZiPS projections for the upcoming season last … [Read more...]
FanGraphs Projects a 10-Win Improvement for the 2015 Chicago Cubs
The front office, Joe Maddon and Anthony Rizzo are on record stating the Cubs goal for next season is to win the National League Central and play in the post-season for the first time under Ricketts family ownership. The Cubs finished last year with a 73-89 record, fifth in the division, but the young team was 28-27 over the last two months against teams playing for a spot in the post-season. Last season marked the first time since 2010 the Cubs did not lose at least 90 games. Based on the … [Read more...]
Position Player Projections for the 2015 Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro will lead what has a chance to be an exciting lineup when the season starts. Rizzo and Castro are the two staples of a young roster as Theo Epstein pointed out early this off-season. The Cubs new hitting coaches, John Mallee and Eric Hinske are in charge of cutting down the strikeouts for a group of young hitters that includes Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara. Three of the youngest Cubs that should be on the Opening Day roster have the skillset … [Read more...]
Pitching Staff Projections for the 2015 Chicago Cubs
Pitchers and catchers don’t report for seven weeks and Opening Night against the Cardinals is more than four months away, but it’s never too early for projections. For the first time during the Theo Epstein-Jed Hoyer regime the team’s focus will be on winning ballgames. The front office, Joe Maddon and a few of the players have said the Cubs goal is to make the playoffs next season. The Cubs will have a young roster on Opening Night and will be depending on those players to produce while … [Read more...]