Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/2/25): Happ Leads Off, Shaw at 3B, Boyd Pitching
The Cubs are now 8-0-3 this spring after a pair of victories in their split-squad games yesterday, and the way their doing it lends credence to the record. No one is out here trying to claim that being undefeated in the Cactus League is indicative of future success, so let’s make sure we’re setting this up the right way. What matters is that players up and down the lineup are having very good at-bats while various members of the pitching staff are flashing solid stuff.
Whether it’s everyday players, prospects, or veteran backups, it all seems to be clicking. Maybe that does a 180 between now and Japan, but things look great so far. One of the big factors in how the Cubs carry success into the games that matter is the performance of Matt Boyd. The oft-injured lefty could have a tremendous impact as a member of the rotation, he just needs to stay healthy enough to make 20+ starts. The Cubs are hoping to get 120 innings out of him, something he’s not done since 2019 with the Tigers.
That’s why depth is so important, and the Cubs have it in both the rotation and bullpen. We’ll see some of that today with Ryan Pressly, Keegan Thompson, Ethan Roberts, and Jack Neely scheduled to follow Boyd.
Sunday’s lineup is what folks really want to get a look at, with Ian Happ patrolling left and leading off ahead of Matt Shaw at third. Shaw is at a full go and looked very good in live BP yesterday, now everyone gets to see that funky batting stance in action. Justin Turner is at first, Miguel Amaya is catching, Jon Berti is at second, and Vidal Bruján is the shortstop. Greg Allen is in center, light-hitting Travis Jankowski is the DH, and Christian Franklin is in right.
The Reds are going with 27-year-old righty Carson Spiers to start this one as he preps for what figures to be a swing role. Spiers debuted in 2023 with two starts out of four appearances and then started 10 of his 22 games pitched last season. Big strikeout numbers in the minors didn’t translate to the bigs as he’s struggled with location. When you only throw 92 and your movement profile is almost perfectly in line with MLB averages, you’re going to have a hard time getting outs.
Spiers managed to clean up the walks last season and his above-average extension allows his stuff to play up just a little, but he hangs way too many pitches. As noted earlier, his problem has been that his pitches do exactly what hitters expect. Justin Steele and Shōta Imanaga are able to find great success without elite velo in large part because their fastballs don’t move like those of their peers. Spiers’ Baseball Savant percentile chart is mostly blue for the opposite reason.
He did manage to strike out five Dodgers over two innings in his first outing of the spring, however, so maybe he’s figured something out. Whether that’s a few extra ticks on the fastball, more depth on the changeup, or something else remains to be seen. I’m sure there’s something out there about it, I just don’t have the time or inclination to look it up ahead of a spring game. That said, I am interested to watch this outing because, as frequent readers have surely gathered, I’ve become a huge nerd for the intricacies of pitching adjustments.
First pitch from Sloan is at 2:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.
