Cub of Coffee 4/19/24: Cubs 8, Marlins 3

That was a nice, easy win after a long West Coast road trip and a postponed game yesterday.

Jameson Taillon looks normal
It was great to see Jameson Taillon return to the mound for the first time this year, as if he's the pitcher he was in the second half of last year he'll provide some much-needed quality innings. He didn't have a tough assignment to start his season, but Taillon was great--he got swings and misses on 16.4% of his pitches on the day, the second highest percentage he's had in his time with the Cubs. Not every start will be this good for Taillon, but it's good to have him back to hopefully stabilize the rotation.

Colten Brewer's new cutter
We got our first look at new Cub Colten Brewer today, and he looked pretty good. Brewer hasn't had a ton of major league success, and his second inning didn't go well, but I'm intrigued by what looks like a new cutter shape for him. The pitch had five fewer inches of vertical break and one more inch of horizontal break compared to the previous season. His slider also had less vertical and horizontal break and his velocity was up a tick. It's too early to tell how this will play or even if it's an intentional change, but it's worth monitoring. Brewer is out of options, so he'll have to impress the Cubs if he wants to remain on the roster.

Keegan Thompson's whiffs
Keegan Thompson has now gotten three or more whiffs on his four-seam fastball multiple times this year after reaching three just once last year. He wasn't throwing quite as hard today as he did in his first two appearances this season, but he still put up two clean innings, bringing him to six hitless innings to start the year. For someone who seemed to be on the roster bubble just a week ago, Thompson has been impressive. I still have questions about his ability to bounce back between appearances, but the results so far are encouraging.

The Cubs should have a well-rested bullpen heading into a doubleheader tomorrow. They could really build some momentum during this series with more games like this.