Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/2/26): Shaw at 2B, Mo Baller Catching, Taillon Tossing
The Cubs are back in action Monday afternoon, and they’ll be playing on Marquee for the second game in a row. Only problem is that, between the game being in Goodyear and several players having left for the WBC, it’s a thin lineup. Teams used to be fined for not sending a requisite percentage of regulars to away games in spring training, but MLB has relaxed that rule this year.
Thus, we’ve got Matt Shaw leading off at second, Kevin Alcántara in right, and Moisés Ballesteros behind the plate. Dylan Carlson cleans up in left, Chas McCormick patrols center, and Jefferson Rojas is at short. Owen Miller plays first, Pedro Ramirez is at third, and career 72 wRC+ hitter Scott Kingery will DH. Doesn’t figure to be a rating banger for the team’s TV network.
Speaking of bangers, that’s what opposing lineups have been with Jameson Taillon on the mound through two starts. You know things are rough when giving up three earned runs over two innings actually lowers your ERA by four points. Taillon has given up four dingers so far and now has a chance to pad his lead over Shōta Imanaga, who surrendered three in yesterday’s game.
While I’m saying all of this in good fun, there comes a point when you have to start worrying about the results. That time is not today. Maybe tomorrow if Taillon struggles with loud contact again.
Going for the Reds is righty Brady Singer, who is making his first Cactus League appearance in his second season with Cincy. Singer, the 18th overall pick by the Royals in 2018, was the return for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer in November of 2024. He’d been a reliable, if at times inconsistent, starter who managed to stick around despite a very narrow repertoire and a lack of fastball velocity.
You don’t see too many successful starters who only throw two pitches, but that was Singer through his first four seasons. Mainly a sinker/slider guy, he threw his changeup very rarely and only cut loose a handful of four-seamers each year. He started throwing the fastball a little more in 2024, by which point he had scrapped the change, and he allocated roughly 10% of his pitches to a new cutter last season. He also differentiated his sweeper a bit and started throwing that more often.
Only the slider generated positive run value, however, and that fastball has remained his worst pitch in that regard. Singer throws from a relatively low slot and thus relies on more east-west movement, but his breaking balls all kind of glom together. The slider and sweeper overlap way too much in both movement and velocity to fool hitters, and the cutter usually ends up in similar spots with a little more velo.
Even with elite extension, Singer doesn’t have nearly enough raw stuff to get by with throwing as many strikes as he does. Finding a way to get more horizontal movement on his sweeper would help, especially if he can figure out how to work the sinker with more arm-side run. He really needs to lean into the angles he creates with his arm slot and extension, exaggerating the disparity between certain offerings.
First pitch from Goodyear is at 2:05pm CT on Marquee and Reds.TV.
On the road.
Watch the game live on Marquee Sports Network. pic.twitter.com/bQqiBtNKG7
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 2, 2026
