The Chicago Cubs are off to a hot start with a record of 23–6. This could mean one of two things: Either they’re establishing their dominance as the best team in the National League, and perhaps all of Major League Baseball, or they’re setting themselves up to put pressure on themselves in the playoffs this October.
Many can argue that the Cubs have all the tools in order to make a deep postseason run this year. With top of the line pitching in Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, and Jason Hammel they can out pitch any team in a five or seven game series with Arrieta and Lester throwing twice. They have the hitting almost down the entire lineup with Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, and Anthony Rizzo just to highlight some names. As a team they are hitting .262 with 170 RBI’s and slugging at an average of .443. These numbers are very supplementary of the pitching that the Cubs possess. The fielding has been slightly above average with 15 errors through 29 games. Nothing to be alarmed about, and very normal for a team with some young defensive players.
The question is: Will the Cubs be able to continue at this success rate through October? There are two possibilities that could exist, but the variable remains the same. Their youth is what will continue to shine or hurt them in the long run. In terms of starting pitching,the Cubs average age is 31.6, which is about perfect in terms of experience but not overuse. Position players-wise, their average age is 28.1, however the average age of the infield is 26.5 with Ben Zobrist being an extreme outlier at the age of 34. Although the infield is relatively young, they all have playoff experience, and the addition of Ben Zobrist who won a world series with the Kansas City Royals last year adds a factor that was not there last season. With the NLCS appearance last year, the Cubs showed that they are able to win in October, which will be a huge boost come that time this season.
One thing we do know is that this Cubs team is not like teams in the past. The Cubs are stacked in all facets of the game, and they have a manager that should be able to get them over the hump. The NL Central is not as strong as it usually is in terms of having three teams that could compete in the division, which may give the Cubs an advantage this season. Also, with the number of games against Milwaukee and Cincinnati should help them in the win column. This September/October will show where the Cubs are at as a club, with maybe a World Series in the future. We shall wait and see.
