Chicago Cubs - Overview (2024)

The 37-year-old southpaw was released by the Red Sox last weekend, but it didn’t take him long to latch on elsewhere. Luetge has pitched well at the Triple-A level this season, compiling a 3.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 47/13 K/BB ratio across 41 2/3 frames in his 31 appearances at Triple-A Worcester. It shouldn’t take him long to earn an opportunity with the Cubs.

Happ gave Chicago a commanding four-run advantage courtesy of a fourth-inning blast -- his 18th big fly of the season -- off Twins reliever Cole Sands. He also reached on a fielder’s choice earlier in the contest and picked up his eighth theft of the year. It was another statsheet-stuffing effort for Happ, who is up to seven homers and 20 RBI over his last 30 games, despite compiling a lackluster .229 (25-for-109) batting average during that span. He’s settled in as a solid, yet unspectacular OF2 for fantasy purposes as a borderline top 30 option at the position for the remainder of the year.

Busch kicked off the scoring by taking Twins starter Joe Ryan deep in the opening frame for his third round-tripper in his last six games dating back to August 2. The 26-year-old former top prospect is still striking out over 30 percent of the time, and lacks the elite over-the-fence pop for the position, but he’s up to 16 home runs on the year in 408 plate appearances and is definitely making an impact for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues. He’s put himself in the mix as a potential top 20 first baseman for fantasy purposes heading into next year.

It was another quick hook for Assad as he was lifted from Wednesday afternoon’s showdown at Wrigley Field after needing 75 pitches (48 strikes) to complete four frames. He finished with only one strikeout and also issued a pair of walks. The 27-year-old righty has worked past the fourth inning only once in five starts since returning from the injured list back on July 13, which certainly limits his realistic fantasy upside moving forward. He’ll square off against the Guardians next Wednesday in a tough road matchup at Progressive Field.

It was announced last week that Alzolay would undergo some season-ending procedure but not what that procedure would be. Tommy John surgery will put him out for most of next year, leaving the Cubs with a tough decision over whether to keep him around at something very close to his 2024 salary of $2.11 million in the hopes that he’ll make a bigger contribution in 2026, his final year before free agency.

Swanson tripled in the sixth inning to push the Cubs’ lead to 5-2 and scored on a wild pitch moments later. Swanson has now tallied hits in three straight games and is 8-for-19 at the plate in six games during the month of August. He’s hitting just .230 on the year while slugging .300. We wouldn’t expect this hot streak to continue for much longer.

It was another strong outing for Imanaga, who has totaled 17 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings in his first two starts on the month while allowing six earned runs. His lone blemish on the night came on a two-run homer by Royce Lewis in the fourth inning, but the Cubs’ offensive attack proved to be more than enough to earn Imanaga the win. Imanaga now has nine wins on the year and lowered his ERA to 3.06 in this outing. The star lefty will look to pick up his 10th win of the season on Tuesday against the Guardians.

Paredes got the Cubs’ scoring started in the bottom of the first inning when he sent a three-run shot off Pablo López into the stands. It was Paredes’ first homer as a Cub since the team acquired him from the Rays last month. He would get after Twins’ starter Pablo López again in the third inning when he drove in Michael Busch to push the Cubs’ lead to 4-0. Tuesday’s performance was an encouraging one for a Paredes who entered the day with a 3-for-27 line from the dish in his new uniform. We’ll see if he can use this strong outing to mount a bit of a turnaround following his slow start in the Windy City.

Houser winds up catching on with the Cubs as low-risk organizational pitching depth just a few days after being released by the Mets. The 31-year-old struggled to a lackluster 5.84 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 45/32 K/BB ratio across 69 1/3 innings (23 appearances, seven starts) this season in his Mets debut before being designated for assignment prior to the trade deadline.

Shaw, who was selected 13th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, is on the precipice of breaking into the majors after batting .279/.373/.468 woth 14 homers and 25 steals across 371 plate appearances this season for Double-A Tennessee. The 22-year-old middle infielder projects as a potential five-category impact fantasy contributor and is one of the better fantasy prospects in the game at this juncture.