AP Photo/Chris Szagola

The Rundown: Cubs Bringing Hot Bats to Wrigley, Hoyer Seeks Injury Answers, Trout’s Thrilling Resurgence

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 17, 2026

“Home is where I want to be; pick me up and turn me around. I feel numb, born with a weak heart. I guess I must be having fun.” – This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads

The Cubs return to Wrigley Field to take on the slumping Mets, and Chicago’s bats couldn’t be coming alive at a better time, at least according to today’s weather.

This afternoon marks one of the rare occasions where the Federal Landmark plays up to its batters, so here’s hoping the Cubs take advantage. Statistics paint a much rosier picture than the current standings. To wit:

  • The 9-9 Cubs are the only last-place team with a positive run differential. Chicago is +19 for a Pythagorean record of 11-7, which puts our heroes in theoretical first place, tied with the Pirates.
  • That run differential is tied for fourth-best in the entire National League.
  • Chicago’s North Side Baseballers are averaging 8.75 runs per game across four tilts this week, all coinciding with warmer weather.
  • Believe it or not, the Cubs have scored 7+ runs in seven of the 18 games they played this season, and the team is still underperforming by most individual metrics and expected outcomes.
  • Chicago is 5-2 in blowouts this year, a trend that should continue throughout the season.

The Cubs could be a veritable juggernaut if their offense continues to click and the bullpen finds its footing. Nine blown leads and a 40% save percentage are what’s keeping Chicago in last place. The Blue Jays are the only team with a worse bullpen.

The Mets, on the other hand, come to town averaging an anemic 1.3 runs per game across their last 10 contests. They’ve lost eight straight to the Dodgers, Athletics, and Diamondbacks, and they’ll be without Juan Soto this weekend. New York is also 4-5 in road games this season. Edward Cabrera takes the bump this afternoon, and he’ll be followed by Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad. The Mets will counter with Kodai Senga, Freddy Peralta, and David Peterson.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

I’d be interested to see how much influence ABS challenges have had on Tyler Glasnow this season. It seems the automated system is causing sight changes in mechanics ($) and subsequently reducing command for most pitchers.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will begin his rehab this evening with a start for Double-A Somerset.

Aaron Judge is not New York’s most dominating player right now. That honor belongs to Ben Rice.

Judge and Mike Trout reminded us last week how much fun baseball is when those two are serious MVP candidates. Trout’s resurgence alone has been thrilling to watch.

Speaking of dominating, Yordan Álvarez is putting up some insane numbers, and he’s actually underperforming his expected production.

The Pirates look like they won the Brandon Lowe trade, at least based on early-season results. Pittsburgh received Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Mason Montgomery from the Rays in a three-team deal that sent Mike Burrows to the Astros. Houston then sent Anderson Brito and Jacob Melton to Tampa Bay.

Coors Field is seeing increased drone activity this season. Sure, they’re drones. Get Scully and Mulder to Denver right away.

If you’re into identified flying objects, Happy Flying Pizza Day to you.

I’m guilty of using ChatGPT to help with investment advice, but I’d never use it for my work here at Cubs Insider. That said, I did ask the AI algorithm a few weeks ago to rate me as a writer as compared to other Cubs bloggers. The answer was equally satisfying and humbling. I make up for what I lack in knowledge with personality, apparently. Yikes.

I, Robot did give me kudos for the depth of my music knowledge, however.

Apropos of Nothing

Payday is my least favorite day of the week. I wake up with a windfall and go to bed a dozen hours later with a pittance. God, I need some Portillo’s, stat.

In a League of His Own

According to OptaSTATS, and including postseason work, Mason Miller has struck out:

  • 20 of his last 23 batters
  • 30 of 38
  • 40 of 55
  • 50 of 70
  • 60 of 89
  • 70 of 109
  • 80 of 135

No other MLB pitcher in the last 50 years has matched any of those stretches at any point in his career (regular & postseason).

Extra Innings

Hoerner is balling, and he got the obligatory rah-rah treatment from Mark DeRosa this week.

They Said It

  • “I think you have to take a look because you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t. A lot of guys go down these days; guys get hurt, guys throw so unbelievably hard. But yeah, we’ll do a deep dive and see if there’s a commonality to the injuries. I feel like the last couple years coming out of spring training, we haven’t had these issues.” – Hoyer
  • “[Cabrera] has a great arm. You can see the talent every time he goes out there. Hopefully, he can stack good starts on top of each other and realize that you don’t have to strike out everyone with our team. We’re going to catch the ball for him. Hopefully, he gains comfort in that, and that pushes him into the strike zone even more.” – Hoyer
  • “Pedro [Ramirez]has certainly shown early in his career that he can handle himself defensively. We’re going to try to expand a little bit of his value defensively, because as you break into the big leagues, you’re not just going to be handed a position. You’re probably going to have to move around, and where the opportunity happens is where you get to play. I told Pedro, ‘You’re on the 40-man roster, you had a strong season in Double A. Your job is to make us say after this camp: Yeah, when something happens, we can call on you.’” – Craig Counsell

Friday Walk-Up Song

A finer stalking song does not exist.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 17, 2026
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