Chicago Cubs See Rise in MLB Power Rankings Following Promising Start
The Chicago Cubs have had a promising start to the 2023 MLB season. They sit at 4-4 and have played well against the Milwaukee Brewers and a very tough Texas Rangers team. The latter they nearly swept but came up short on Easter Sunday.
With a ranking of 21 heading into the season, MLB.com's latest power rankings have Chicago at 20 now.
Yes, it's only a jump of one spot, but this early in the season these power rankings tend to not fluctuate much due to limited sample size.
Still, the offense has looked good, especially newcomer Dansby Swanson as well as his middle infield counterpart Nico Hoerner.
Ian Happ has had encouraging play in his walk year and even Cody Bellinger might just be around the corner from breaking out.
The back half of the bullpen has looked great, especially Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger.
The rotation, outside of Drew Smyly, has looked very promising with Marcus Stroman looking every part the ace. He has thrown 12.0 innings of scoreless baseball to open the season.
Justin Steele has been great as well, as he holds a 0.75 ERA after two starts.
Jameson Taillon has struggled, but his stuff has looked fine. It's just a matter of time for the veteran. And of course Hayden Wesneski had a first rough start, but if three earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched is his "disappointing" start, the team will take it.
Overall, this team is underachieving in most facets and has still found a way to sit right at .500 after facing the Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, and a tough Rangers squad. So to see an improvement of even just one spot in the power rankings is a win in our book.
Now, Chicago will host the Seattle Mariners for a three-game set that will begin on Monday.
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