The Chicago Cubs have a day off today as they travel west to start a six-game road trip that will continue to test their abilities.
The Cubs will open things up against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit in second place in the National League West, then travel to San Diego to play the San Diego Padres, who are in first place.
The Cubs are playing great baseball and are 7-3 in their last ten games. The key to their success has been having strong offensive performances from two members of their lineup and a strong pitching performance from their Ace.
Three Chicago Cubs players who are off to great starts to the season
The offense has been led by the Cubs superstar and heartbeat of the lineup, Kyle Tucker, who is off to an MVP-type season.
Tucker is hitting .322/.452/.678 for an OPS of 1.130 and a Major League-leading OPS+ of 221. Tucker is also leading in home runs (five), RBI (16), and runs (16) in 15 games.
Tuckers has been getting help in his run to be the National League MVP from his teammate in the lineup, Seiya Suzuki, who is off to an All-Star-type season.
Seiya has been used as the Cub’s primary designated hitter and has performed well in 15 games. In those games, Seiya has slashed .300/.403/.567 for an OPS and OPS+ of .969 and 177.
The one downside to Suzuki’s game to start the year is he’s struck out 22 times in his 60 at-bats (72 plate appearances) and has walked half that (11) in that span.
The third player who’s off to a great start is the Ace of the staff Shota Imanaga, who, outside of his last start against the Texas Rangers, has been fantastic.
Overall, Imanaga has a 2-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23.1 innings. The 30-year-old Imanaga has also been impressive with holding opposing hitters to an.169 average against.
Imanaga’s best start of the season so far came against the Padres, where he went 7.1 innings, allowed four hits, one earned run, and struck out four.
Why does this feel sustainable from these guys?
Even though it’s a small sample size from these three guys, these hot starts feel sustainable, as all three have track records of being one of the tops at their positions.
Imanaga has done well adding in his sweeper, giving hitters another pitch to think about so hitters don’t sit on his fastball and splitter. His sweeper usage is up one percent from last season, going from 8% in 2024 to 9% in 2025.
His strong start could be a sign that he could finish higher or win the National League Cy Young Award after finishing fifth there last season.
Tucker is just doing what he always does, and that’s hit for average, hit for power, and driving in runs.
Tucker is in a contract year and is coming off a season with the Houston Astros that was cut short due to him breaking his shin. If he didn’t break his shin, Tucker could’ve made a bid for the American League MVP award.
If he can maintain this level of play, Tucker could be in for a massive payday.
Seiya has been great since being signed out of Japan, with him never hitting under .260 and an OPS never under .750. Suzuki’s hit start could help him make his first All-Star game in his career.
If all three can maintain this high level of play, the Cubs will have a great chance to make the playoffs.
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