(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

The Rundown: Cubs Roll Past Phillies, Hoerner Continues to Mash, Baseball America Names Ramírez and Alcántara Statcast Standouts

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 22, 2026

“Move ’em on (head ’em up), head ’em up (move ’em on), cut ’em out (ride ’em in), ride ’em in (cut ’em out)” — Theme from Rawhide by The Blues Brothers

The Cubs have now won seven straight games, a new benchmark in the Craig Counsell era. They’ve improved to 14-9 on the season, but aren’t gaining any ground because each of their NL Central brethren also keeps winning. Chicago has won eight of 10, but alas, so have the Reds. The Pirates, God bless ’em, finally have a good team but they’re still bottom feeders at 13-10.

Put another way, the NL Central has five teams playing better than .500 baseball, while only six such teams exist in the American League. How much fun will it be if the entire season plays out like this?

The Cubs continue to be driven by Nico Hoerner, who is currently wrestling with the ghosts of Nap Lajoie and Rogers Hornsby. Hoerner is playing at a 13.4 WAR pace, which would land him second overall in the history of the game, right behind Babe Ruth. Mercy (and my apologies to Ken Harrelson and all White Sox fans)! Chicago’s all-world second baseman was 2-for-5 last night with his fourth home run of the year. His 22 RBI tie him for third in baseball, right behind Yordan Álvarez and Sal Stewart, and on par with Drake Baldwin. That’s some honest-to-goodness full tilt boogie.

The Cubs are winning despite a total of two combined home runs from Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Michael Busch, all of whom went yard 30+ times last season. Chicago could be nearly unbeatable once those guys find their strokes.

The X-factor of Chicago’s offense, however, is Moisés Ballesteros. I said on Opening Day that the mashing rookie gives me Miguel Cabrera vibes, and Ballesteros is proving me right. Chicago’s “Miggy” is slashing .378/.431/1.031 in 51 PAs with three home runs and 11 RBI. He trails Stewart in the NL Rookie of the Year race, but should gain ground quickly with more playing time.

It’s good to be a Cubs fan this morning. Upcoming road sets against the Dodgers and Padres no longer feel overly daunting, especially if the Cubs can complete the sweep against the Phillies — losers of seven straight — today and tomorrow.

Cubs News & Notes

  • Shōta Imanaga was strong once again in yesterday’s 7-4 win. He’s looking more and more like the ace we thought Cade Horton would be this season. His 0.724 WHIP leads all of baseball, yet he remains a bit under the radar due to low preseason expectations.
  • Imanaga (2-1) didn’t have the biting splitter he used to strike out a season-high 11 Phillies last week. That said, he and Carson Kelly found the right mix to go seven innings, his longest outing of the season.
  • The veteran lefty leaned heavily on his fastball and induced weak contact all night long to continue his stellar start to the season.
  • Suzuki hit his first home run of the year in yesterday’s win. It landed on Waveland Avenue.
  • Counsell said he will continue to platoon Ballesteros ($) because that’s what’s best for the rookie and the ballclub. Counsell is managing at his highest level since being hired by the Cubs, so I’ll trust him with Ballesteros’ development.
  • Phil Maton threw live BP before yesterday’s game and said he “cleared another hurdle.” The Cubs also had closer Daniel Palencia undergo imaging on his left side. It appears the source of his injury was related to his lat, not the oblique. Counsell said his closer might be able to resume throwing before the end of this homestand.
  • Cub hitters were very patient yesterday and drew 10 bases on balls against six Philadelphia pitchers. The Phillies chased a bunch more and walked just twice.
  • Todd Ricketts pushed back against fans and writers who have taken exception with the friendship between Matt Shaw and Charlie Kirk.

Ball Four

Pedal to the metal, boys!

Central Intelligence

How About That!

The Royals and Hallmark Cards have partnered up to bring baseball to the heart of downtown Kansas City.

Traditional closers may become extinct based on recent trends.

Some fans will risk their lives to catch a foul ball, apparently.

Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 53 games, tying Shawn Green for the most in Dodgers history.

Trevor Bauer made his Atlantic League debut in Hagerstown and insists he’s being blackballed by MLB.

There should be plenty of starting pitching available at this year’s trade deadline. Joe Ryan, Sandy Alcántara, and Luis Severino should draw the most interest.

The Yankees are rumored to break a long-standing uniform tradition this season.

Apropos of Nothing

The Michael Jackson movie premieres in the United States this weekend, and I already have my ticket for Monday night. Early reviews have not been pleasant, however. One critic said the biopic has “the dramatic depth of a Wikipedia article.” Ouch. My gut feeling is that audiences will love the movie much more than the critics.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  •  The last time the Mets won a game 1-0 was on July 20, 2024, when they beat the Marlins in Miami. Luis Severino was the winning pitcher, and Edwin Díaz picked up the save. The Mets are currently riding a 12-game losing streak and were badly trolled by the Twins yesterday on X.
  • On April 20, 2006, Julio Franco hit a pinch‑hit, opposite‑field two‑run homer for the Mets against the Padres’ Scott Linebrink at Petco Park when he was 47 years old. Franco’s blast broke a mark that had stood since 1930, when pitcher Jack Quinn homered at age 46 years, 357 days.
  • Don Mattingly turned 65 on Monday. Donnie Baseball is the only Yankee to have his number retired without winning a World Series with the team.

Extra Innings

Oakland’s “Moneyball” scouts would say Hoerner passes the eye candy test. Good face, good jaw, ball explodes off his bat. Most Cubs fans would also agree.

They Said It

  • “Do you guys want to develop players or do you want to win? Which one do you want? Oh, you want to do both, and you want it to be sunny every day and 70 degrees? ” – Counsell
  • “[Ballesteros] is really locked in. It was loud [last night], and you [could] hear him at one point say no to the pitch as it’s coming in. That’s cool.” – Counsell
  • “Every organization, you have to at some point make ‘bets’ on your younger players We felt like this was a good kind of risk or bet to take, that Moisés would be able to handle this side of a platoon situation. So, yeah, it wasn’t really a competition. That was after [66] plate appearances last year in the major leagues. So, yeah, that’s the opportunity that we put in front of him. I think there’s this notion that he’s already figured that out. I would caution everybody on that. It’s been [51] plate appearances this year, so he’s got development left from that side of it, too. He’s doing really well, but there’s a lot of adjustments back and forth to be made, for sure, that are going to be challenging for Moisés, and I look forward to him succeeding.” – Counsell
  • “I know that Matt and Charlie were pretty good friends. They knew each other in a world that had nothing to do with baseball, Turning Point, or politics. They met in Arizona, where they both lived, and they were always friends. I think it’s completely natural for someone to take a day off to attend the funeral of a loved one, whether that’s a close friend or a family member. I thought that was pretty normal.” – Ricketts

One Last Thing

I haven’t subscribed to Baseball America since I quit playing keeper leagues in 2021, but I paid up for a recent article featuring two hot-hitting Cubs prospects ($). Pedro Ramírez and Kevin Alcántara headline this week’s Statcast Standouts, and I’ll give you a couple of bullet points from the article.

  • “Ramírez has rolled right on, showing the same 65-grade raw power with even better contact rates and more consistent hard contact. The results are showing up on the field, as well, with a .307/.366/.600 slash line through Saturday. Power at that level would be noteworthy for Ramírez on its own. When it comes with an elite 95.3% zone contact rate, it’s virtually unprecedented.”
  • “Exit velocities grab all the headlines, but launch angles feed families. Alcántara used to be just an EV darling, but he has slowly transformed himself into a launch-angle monster. Essentially, Alcántara has traded 10 points of zone contact for 7-8 degrees of launch angle. It’s still early, and these numbers could change, but the trend suggests this is intentional. For a player with Alcántara’s 65-grade raw power, this raises his ceiling substantially. The results are showing up on the field, as well, as he’s hit seven home runs through Saturday with an OPS north of .900 despite an unlucky .207 BABIP.”

Wednesday Walk-Up Song

The song and signature dance move that launched a solo career into the stratosphere.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 22, 2026
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