Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/4/25): Happ Leads Off, Tucker in RF, Imanaga Starting Home Opener

Were it not for the Dodgers (8-0) looking every bit as good as advertised, the undefeated Padres (7-0) could lay claim to being the hottest team in baseball. They’re on quite a roll after sweeping a four-game set against the Braves and taking three from the Guardians in San Diego. The conditions won’t be quite as idyllic in Chicago, with temps in the mid-40s and a strong chance of rain on Friday.

While that’s totally normal for a Cubs home opener, the Friday start means there’s no built-in off day in case of inclement weather. That’s probably a Craig Counsell decision, as we know how much he hates rainouts. Interestingly enough, the Cubs don’t even have Monday off prior to hosting the A’s next week. Taking care of business against the Padres would be even better knowing a team they just swept awaits them.

It helps that Shōta Imanaga and his 0.82 ERA will be on the mound to start this series. The lefty has looked great outside of six walks and will be at a full go after having to take it a little easier than usual in his first start. He threw 91 pitches against the Diamondbacks in a win last week, and I’d guess his control issues will be firmed up. It might actually help him to pitch outside with more humidity than he’s experienced to this point.

Even if he’s not showing his pinpoint command, getting a little run support will cover up some mistakes. The Cubs are currently among the top three teams in MLB for fWAR (2.6, 2nd), home runs (14, 3rd), runs (60, 1st), and steals (11, 3rd), which is very good even considering they’ve played more games than any other team. Those numbers look even better considering the sluggish offensive start in Japan.

Ian Happ tried the torpedo bats in Japan but has switched back to his regular weapons and is still working to figure things out at the plate as he handles left field. Right fielder Kyle Tucker has had zero issue adjusting after a slow spring training, as evidenced by his 1.228 OPS, then it’s DH Seiya Suzuki with a .958 OPS. Michael Busch cleans up at first, Dansby Swanson handles short, and Nico Hoerner is at second. All three of them have used the torpedoes this season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Matt Shaw is at third, and Miguel Amaya is behind the dish. While the first two in that group have been a little inconsistent, there are flashes of them both coming around. Amaya has been terrific in a tandem with Carson Kelly that looks like the complete opposite of the situation to start last season.

They’re facing 26-year-old Randy Vásquez, who is pitching in what should be his first full big league season. The righty made 20 MLB starts last season, but tallied only 98 innings as he struggled to miss bats. Having only 62 strikeouts is one thing, but allowing 119 hits is less than optimal. That may have been a matter of throwing too many strikes, as his 6.7% walk rate was well below his historical performance. While it’s still very early, that hasn’t carried over into this season.

Vásquez walked four with three strikeouts over six innings in his first start, a scoreless outing in which he gave up four hits. He appears to have drastically shifted his pitch mix, though that could just be a matter of the matchup. Still, going from his four-seam and sinker making up 44% of his pitches last year to just 19% in his first start is something to note. He went fully backward, throwing his sweeper (25%), cutter (23%), curve (22%), and change (12%) more than either fastball.

The curve is very slurvy, getting even more horizontal movement than the sweeper with a good deal more depth. They’re thrown with similar low-80s velocity and could play really well off of one another, particularly with his upper-90s cutter giving a different look from the hard stuff that sits around 93 mph. The changeup hasn’t done much for him to this point, but it gets more arm-side run than his other pitches and could emerge as a wild card if he figures it out.

There’s not much to take away from previous experience because Cubs batters have only 17 total at-bats against Vásquez. That said, this feels like a matchup they should be able to exploit. Between how he’s pitched and how the Cubs have been hitting, I like their chances in this one.

First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

?️: CHICAGOOOO!

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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 4, 2025