The competition for spot in Chicago Cubs' rotation intensifies – MLB Feature
The Chicago Cubs have taken meticulous care in the Spring Training not to lose sight of the most qualified pitcher who can book his place in an enviable spot: Rotation. There are several contenders in this list; chief among whom are Chris Volstad, Jeff Samardzija,
Rodrigo Lopez to Travis Wood and Randy Wells.
They are admittedly all qualified to get their names slated. But since there is an increased competition for the spot owing to the fact that the team is in the building phase, all the pitchers will put their heart and soul to be the ultimate prize-winner.
If the performances in the Cactus League are anything to go by, every one of them has been exceptionally good. While some may have been overshadowed by the other, what is noticeable and overwhelming to see for many observers is the ever improving and strengthening
pitching line-up of the team.
Jeff Samardzija, however, is said to have almost zeroed down for that spot. For last few games, he has been thoroughly impressive. The fact that over the 10 innings that he has pitched and not walked a batter has just strengthened his case to be considered
on high priority.
The game against the Texas Rangers on Saturday brought to fore the talent he has. He allowed only a run in the four innings that he threw, virtually dismantling the Rangers’ offensive. Even the run that he allowed was after three simultaneous singles, which
in the team manager Dale Sveum’s view is not something worrying.
"The thing people forget about hits is that even a lot of good pitchers will give up hits, singles," Sveum said. "It's the slugging percentage that you look for as much as anything with starting pitchers. I don't care what level you're at but it's difficult
to string singles together to score runs.”
In Dale Sveum’s view, it is all about keeping the slugging percentage. For that, he definitely needs some strong pitchers on the mound.
"When you have starting pitchers who can go on the mound and keep the slugging percentage down through the course of the season as well as games, you'll be a lot better off," he said.
Needless to say he could find such a pitcher in Samardzija. He has a few more games in the Cactus League to seal his name as his performance gets better with the passage of time. The other contenders that are eyeing the spot will redouble their effort to
be there.
From Volstad to Wood and Wells, Lopez, and Samardzija, the spot at the end, will be of the one who wins this round in the Cactus League. So far, none of the pitchers has apparently disappointed the manager who is keeping a very close and critical eye on
the developments.
The Chicago Cubs will have a new beginning to make this season with the relatively different side. They have a changed 40-man roster to boast coupled with the prominent names in the frontline office. Arguably, rotation will be of key importance as far as
determining the Cubs’ overall performance.
Whoever finally wins the spot, the rotation, it can be seen is ever stronger now. The Cubs will indeed be a tough, if not undefeatable, rotation in the coming season which will put a lot of teams in a potentially difficult situation.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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