Chicago Cubs Team report

Automated SABRhood research report for the Chicago Cubs.
SABRhood team report

Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs ranks 3rd in run generation and 24th in pitching performance, with a rested bullpen and 1 recent risers.

League intelligence# 11 55.5 index
Run generation#3
Composite score 82.1
Pitching#24
Composite score 29.0
Recent play#3
1 recent risers
Bullpen readiness#6
Current state rested
Roster construction

Where this club creates, and loses, WAR

Players are split by position and total WAR is calculated; the green border indicates a club is top-ten in positional WAR, the red border indicates a bottom-ten club.

Best value pocketsOutfield / Designated hitterClearest upgrade lanesStarting pitching
CMiddle

Catcher

2.2WAR#11 of 30
Top valueMiguel Amaya1.1 WAR
1BMiddle

First base

1.6WAR#17 of 30
Top valueMichael Busch1.6 WAR
2BStrength

Second base

2.7WAR#8 of 30
Top valueNico Hoerner1.8 WAR
3BStrength

Third base

2.8WAR#6 of 29
Top valueAlex Bregman2.3 WAR
SSStrength

Shortstop

2.4WAR#10 of 28
Top valueDansby Swanson2.5 WAR
OFStrength

Outfield

9.9WAR#1 of 30
Top valuePete Crow-Armstrong7.2 WAR
DHStrength

Designated hitter

2.4WAR#4 of 20
Top valueSeiya Suzuki2.8 WAR
SPNeed

Starting pitching

2.6WAR#28 of 30
Top valueShota Imanaga1.4 WAR
RPMiddle

Relief pitching

1.6WAR#20 of 30
Top valueBen Brown2.0 WAR
Broadcast three

Water cooler notes

Three concise, evidence-linked notes to start a broadcast conversation.

  1. 1
    team identity

    Chicago Cubs’s analytical identity

    Chicago Cubs ranks 3rd in run generation and 24th in pitching performance, with a rested bullpen and 1 recent risers.

  2. 2
    form driver

    Daniel Palencia is the strongest recent pitcher signal

    Recent OPS allowed 0.206 versus 0.823 previously.

  3. 3
    signature pitch

    Shota Imanaga’s Splitter: 82.8 mph, 39.8% whiffs

    Quality score 83.2; usage 35.9%.

Why it changed

Player movement with league context attached

The recent-window shift and the full-season league standing are separate, so a surge never floats free of the player’s actual level.

Pitcher change profile

Daniel Palencia

Chicago Cubs | RHP

34.4
Season BF114OPS allowed0.715Est. wOBA allowed0.309Samplemoderate
Biggest changeOPS allowed +2.36 z

OPS allowed is the largest recent shift: improving by 2.4 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 42nd percentile.

Season contextMLB percentile
OPS allowed42nd
0.715
Est. wOBA allowed45th
0.309
Strikeout rate74th
25.4%
Walk rate allowed55th
7.9%
Hard-hit rate allowed89th
32.0%
Run value allowed / PA35th
0.007
What changedRecent vs earlier season
OPS allowed+2.36 z
Recent 0.206 baseline 0.823
Est. wOBA allowed+2.33 z
Recent 0.113 baseline 0.351
Strikeout rate-0.82 z
Recent 20.0% baseline 26.6%
Walk rate allowed-0.55 z
Recent 10.0% baseline 7.4%
Hard-hit rate allowed-0.46 z
Recent 35.7% baseline 31.1%
Run value allowed / PA+1.23 z
Recent -0.088 baseline 0.027
Broadcast read: OPS allowed is the largest recent shift: improving by 2.4 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 42nd percentile. Recent sample: 20 BF; prior sample: 94 BF.
Hitter change profile

Michael Busch

Chicago Cubs | LHB

32.3
Season PA686OPS0.743Est. wOBA0.328Samplestrong
Biggest changewalk rate +1.96 z

Walk rate is the largest recent shift: improving by 2.0 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 93rd percentile.

Season contextMLB percentile
OPS56th
0.743
Est. wOBA64th
0.328
Strikeout rate42nd
23.2%
Walk rate93rd
12.8%
Hard-hit rate50th
39.9%
Run value / PA72nd
0.026
What changedRecent vs earlier season
OPS+0.83 z
Recent 0.933 baseline 0.730
Est. wOBA+0.88 z
Recent 0.405 baseline 0.323
Strikeout rate-0.41 z
Recent 25.5% baseline 23.0%
Walk rate+1.96 z
Recent 21.3% baseline 12.2%
Hard-hit rate-0.61 z
Recent 33.3% baseline 40.2%
Run value / PA+0.65 z
Recent 0.080 baseline 0.022
Broadcast read: Walk rate is the largest recent shift: improving by 2.0 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 93rd percentile. Recent sample: 47 PA; prior sample: 639 PA.
Team highs

The category leaders inside this clubhouse

Familiar production now sits beside tracked force: 100+ mph contact and pitches are shown as both totals and opportunity rates.

Club contact

100+ mph batted balls

Tracked-contact season total

  1. 1Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs140
  2. 2Seiya SuzukiChicago Cubs98
  3. 3Michael BuschChicago Cubs89
  4. 4Ian HappChicago Cubs88
  5. 5Alex BregmanChicago Cubs84
Club contact

100+ mph contact rate

Minimum 30 tracked batted balls

  1. 1Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs32.6%
  2. 2Gabriel AriasChicago Cubs29.5%
  3. 3Michael ConfortoChicago Cubs28.2%
  4. 4Seiya SuzukiChicago Cubs25.9%
  5. 5Ian HappChicago Cubs25.8%
Club velocity

Pitches at 100+ mph

Across every pitch type

  1. 1Daniel PalenciaChicago Cubs81
  2. 2Ryan ZeferjahnChicago Cubs5
  3. 3Edward CabreraChicago Cubs0
  4. 4Yacksel RíosChicago Cubs0
  5. 5Hunter HarveyChicago Cubs0
Club velocity

100+ mph pitch rate

Minimum 100 tracked pitches

  1. 1Daniel PalenciaChicago Cubs18.0%
  2. 2Ryan ZeferjahnChicago Cubs0.4%
  3. 3Edward CabreraChicago Cubs0.0%
  4. 4Ben BrownChicago Cubs0.0%
  5. 5Tyler FergusonChicago Cubs0.0%
Club offense

Batting average

Best qualified contact results

  1. 1Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs0.280
  2. 2Tyrone TaylorChicago Cubs0.272
  3. 3Pedro RamírezChicago Cubs0.266
  4. 4Seiya SuzukiChicago Cubs0.265
  5. 5Nico HoernerChicago Cubs0.264
Club offense

Home runs

The club power board

  1. 1Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs45
  2. 2Alex BregmanChicago Cubs26
  3. 3Seiya SuzukiChicago Cubs25
  4. 4Ian HappChicago Cubs24
  5. 5Michael BuschChicago Cubs20
Club offense

OPS

On-base and slugging production

  1. 1Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs0.946
  2. 2Seiya SuzukiChicago Cubs0.829
  3. 3Tyrone TaylorChicago Cubs0.818
  4. 4Michael ConfortoChicago Cubs0.810
  5. 5Alex BregmanChicago Cubs0.801
Club pitching

Strikeouts

Total batters finished by strikeout

  1. 1Kevin GausmanChicago Cubs177
  2. 2Shota ImanagaChicago Cubs164
  3. 3David PetersonChicago Cubs131
  4. 4Colin ReaChicago Cubs100
  5. 5Ryan ZeferjahnChicago Cubs93
Club pitching

Strikeout rate

Strikeouts per batter faced

  1. 1Ryan ZeferjahnChicago Cubs31.8%
  2. 2Caleb ThielbarChicago Cubs29.6%
  3. 3Tyler FergusonChicago Cubs26.9%
  4. 4Jacob WebbChicago Cubs25.5%
  5. 5Daniel PalenciaChicago Cubs25.4%
Club pitching

Lowest OPS allowed

Qualified opponent production

  1. 1Ben BrownChicago Cubs0.497
  2. 2Clay HolmesChicago Cubs0.586
  3. 3Ryan ZeferjahnChicago Cubs0.638
  4. 4Ryan RolisonChicago Cubs0.659
  5. 5Jacob WebbChicago Cubs0.678
Ace-in-the-Hole

The staff ace’s complete arsenal

The highest-WAR qualified starter leads the card. Every tracked offering is shown with usage, pitch traits, outcomes, and same-pitch MLB percentiles.

Staff ace · RHP

Ben Brown

68.0 IP · 1.85 ERA · 2.0 WAR

944 tracked pitches
Pitch Use Velo Whiff Chase Zone Putaway Hard hit
Four-Seam FastballFF · 371 pitches 39.3% 96.378th pct 13.3%22nd pct 23.7%27th pct 59.0%93rd pct 0.0%100th pct 52.2%15th pct
Knuckle CurveKC · 366 pitches 38.8% 86.893rd pct 41.6%90th pct 38.1%69th pct 40.4%72nd pct 0.0%100th pct 39.3%55th pct
SinkerSI · 207 pitches 21.9% 96.484th pct 8.7%27th pct 25.8%53rd pct 55.1%43rd pct 0.0%100th pct 33.3%82nd pct
Percentiles compare each pitch only with the same MLB pitch type and a minimum 50-pitch peer sample. Hard-hit percentile is reversed so a higher percentile is better.
Matchup intelligence

The largest qualified handedness edges

hitter edge82.3

Ian Happ

Chicago Cubs

Ian Happ is doing more damage against right-handed pitching

vs L0.217
vs R0.355

Estimated wOBA: 0.217 vs L, 0.355 vs R.

pitcher edge82.3

Ryan Rolison

Chicago Cubs

Ryan Rolison is limiting left-handed batters more effectively

vs L0.189
vs R0.383

Estimated wOBA: 0.189 vs L, 0.383 vs R.

pitcher edge82.0

Javier Assad

Chicago Cubs

Javier Assad is limiting right-handed batters more effectively

vs L0.360
vs R0.243

Estimated wOBA: 0.360 vs L, 0.243 vs R.

Bullpen decision board

Best available matchup for either side

The board now shows only the highest-ranked active reliever against a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter. Workload availability, role, season performance, and handedness all remain visible.

Left-handed batter86.9

Ryan Rolison

LHP · available · 2 days rest

Availability97.2%Matchup100.0%Performance52.1%
Right-handed batter81.4

Ryan Zeferjahn

RHP · available · 2 days rest

Availability86.7%Matchup70.0%Performance70.9%
Story leads

Team Headlines

Subject Reporting lead Score
Pete Crow-Armstrong Pete Crow-Armstrong is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 95.2
Seiya Suzuki Seiya Suzuki is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 86.4
Kevin Gausman Kevin Gausman’s Splitter: 84.1 mph, 39.6% whiffs 83.4
Shota Imanaga Shota Imanaga’s Splitter: 82.8 mph, 39.8% whiffs 83.0
Alex Bregman Alex Bregman is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 80.9
Michael Conforto Michael Conforto is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 80.4
Research status: this automated report is a reporting foundation, not a finished scouting report. Active rosters are date-stamped; injuries, same-day transactions, probable pitchers, and opponent context still require pregame confirmation.