Cub of Coffee 4/1/24: Cubs 5, Rockies 0

That was a great home opener. Shōta Imanaga was stellar in the Cubs' first shutout of the season, and provided something we don’t often see from Cubs pitchers.

Shōta Imanaga’s debut
Imanaga looked great against the Rockies. He managed 20 swings-and-misses in just 92 pitches on the day, tied for the second most whiffs for a Cubs starter since 2022 (and one ahead of Jordan Wicks yesterday). The Cubs have had good pitchers, but they haven’t really had strikeout pitchers--Imanaga should be able to rectify that, even against stronger offenses than the Rockies away from their home park. Home runs will be a concern (there were probably two balls that would have gotten out in better weather), but if Imanaga is able to limit them to solo homers he should be fine. It was one game against a rough offense, but Imanaga showed why the Cubs see him as a possible high-end starter.

It’s hard to say if it would mess with the efficacy of the pitch, but from today’s outing alone it looks like Imanaga could actually use his splitter and slider more. We heard about his fastball and how difficult it is to pick up, but it seemed like it got hit the hardest out of his three main pitches, while his splitter got 12 whiffs on 15 swings. It’s worth keeping an eye on Imanaga’s pitch mix to see how it changes throughout the year as he adjusts to the league and the league adjusts in turn.

Christopher Morel’s offense (and defense)
Christopher Morel continues to be one of the team’s best hitters and a problem defensively. The one ground ball that was hit off of Imanaga was hit to Morel and he couldn’t field it. On the offensive end, it was his 110 MPH single that turned into a Little League home run that finally put the Cubs on the board. I’m curious to see how much runway Morel has at third base. Wherever he plays, he’s making it clear that he’s an important part of this team’s lineup.

Who’s pitching?
With Drew Smyly providing two scoreless innings tonight and Ben Brown pitching on Saturday, the Cubs’ two main starting options for Wednesday won’t be on full rest. If I had to guess, I’d say Brown will get the “bulk” assignment, but who knows what inning he’ll enter the game. The Cubs got creative with Drew Smyly’s usage last year briefly against the Cardinals, but it seems like Craig Counsell is willing to try more unconventional pitching arrangements than his predecessor. As long as he gets the pitching staff to buy in (and I see no reason to think he won’t), I don’t see a problem with it, and it would be nice to see the Cubs dabble in some more progressive strategies for managing their staff.

Javier Assad gets the start tomorrow, which hopefully means a lot of weak contact from Rockies hitters. I’d expect to see Madrigal at 3rd, especially if the conditions are rough, but we’ll see. The Cubs should have a good chance once more.