AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Rundown: Cubs Win in Extras, PCA Hits for Reverse Cycle, Misiorowski Tosses a Wood and a Maddux

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 16, 2026

“A pie in the face for being a sleepy bull-toad.” – Daydream by The Lovin’ Spoonful

I’m not sure what to make of the 2026 Cubs, but I do think Jed Hoyer should simply sit on his hands at this year’s trade deadline. I’ll break it down in train-of-thought style, if you don’t mind.

  1. The Brewers seem unstoppable, and Jacob Misiorowski is having an historic season. I know some of the local sportscasters up here, and it seems Milwaukee is among the 2-3 favorites to acquire Tarik Skubal. The Brewers are in a position to go all in; the Cubs are not.
  2. It seems odd to me that Chicago cannot identify good pitchers in the way that Milwaukee does, and I blame Craig Breslow. He overhauled the pitching infrastructure in Chicago before heading to the Red Sox, where he then traded Quinn Priester and Kyle Harrison to the Brewers. Though Priester is currently injured, the pair is a combined 21-4 with a 3.06 ERA since joining Milwaukee. I don’t know how Breslow and Chicago’s scouts identify strong pitching prospects, but something isn’t meshing. The Brewers famously optimized Priester and Harrison by altering their mound position to the center of the rubber while changing each pitcher’s arm slot. For Harrison, that unlocked massive vertical break on his four-seamer, which tunnels seamlessly with his now devastating slider. Priester’s sinker operated with more drop, and he increased the whiff rate on his cutter and curveball.
  3. Chicago’s best starter is Ben Brown. He worked with Clay Holmes of the Mets in the offseason.
  4. Quality pitching determines which teams go deep into the postseason. The Cubs are not currently constructed for a deep run, while a rotation led by Misiorowski, Skubal (theoretically), and Harrison could run the table this October.
  5. Chicago’s farm system might be underrated. It makes little sense to start trading premium prospects for one-year rentals.
  6. The Cubs are good enough to challenge for a Wild Card berth. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but the goal should be to get home-field advantage in the first round. The extra revenues from October baseball are worth far more than anything Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki will get in trade. That said, if some team wants to give Hoyer an elite pitching prospect for either or both, then do the deal. I question whether Hoyer and his entourage can identify elite pitching traits, however. Suzuki and Happ are probably attractive to the Phillies, and Carson Kelly is going to draw attention from the Yankees.
  7. Chicago’s future outfield situation doesn’t seem so dire when you watch Josiah Hartshorn tearing the cover off the ball. He’s probably a year or two away, and he’s only 19, but he’s outplaying Ethan Conrad and Kane Kepley and could be the team’s No. 1 prospect by next spring.
  8. I do not believe Dansby Swanson will get his batting average above .200 before the season ends. He needs 60 hits in his next 223 at-bats to hit the Mendoza Line, a .269 clip. It just ain’t happening. He’s also signed through 2029 and the Cubs owe him $81 million plus whatever remains of his 2026 salary. Ouch.
  9. Hoyer should be thinking about building around Brown, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw, Moisés Ballesteros, and Michael Busch. He’ll also have to hope Alex Bregman doesn’t become Swanson 2.0.
  10. The Cubs will be NL Central also-rans unless they can field a rotation capable of matching the Brewers and Pirates. It might be time to overhaul the work Breslow did before he bolted for Boston.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

I think it’s great that Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle yesterday, but he might have turned that double into a triple if he busted it out of the box. Getting picked off after achieving the cycle wasn’t his proudest moment, I’m sure. The stats PCA should be hanging his hat on are otherworldly. He’s on pace to finish with 8.7 fWAR, and he has a chance to finish with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases.

Central Intelligence

  • Milwaukee (43-26): Misiorowski and Jackson Chourio were named NL Players of the Week, the first co-honorees in franchise history. Chourio batted 13-for-29 with five homers, 10 RBIs, and eight runs scored across Milwaukee’s six games. On Friday night, Misiorowski allowed just one hit and no walks, striking out 15 on 95 pitches (58 of which came in at 100-plus mph) while facing the minimum thanks to a fourth-inning double play. Imagine combining a (Kerry) Wood with a (Greg) Maddux. Jeez.
  • St. Louis (39-31): The Cardinals struck gold with Dustin May and might regret it if they decide to trade him at the deadline. I’d trade him just because of his injury history. Sell high, right?
  • Chicago (38-35): Brown is now the one that got away for most Phillies fans.
  • Pittsburgh (36-37): The Pirates fell below .500 for the first time since March 31 after being blown out by the Athletics.
  • Cincinnati (34-37): The Reds will have some tough decisions to make after the All-Star Game. They’re not out of the race by any means, but they have too many holes to be thinking about this year’s playoffs.

How About That!

Tom Glavine fears the current MLB labor fight could mirror the 1994 season. John Smoltz said the same thing last week.

Paul Skenes believes the players need to dig in and not give in.

MLB was not happy that a trio of Giants’ players inscribed bible verses on their Pride Night caps. Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker were issued warnings by the league.

Cody Bellinger is making a strong case to be the best free agent signing of the year.

Dusty Baker believes Sacramento has “an excellent chance” of landing a team when MLB expands.

The White Sox have climbed 20 spots in the MLB power rankings since Opening Day.

Trey Mancini unretired after 1,043 days and found a home playing for the Angels.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. The Cubs and the Blue Jays have already had 28 different guys toe the rubber. No other team has used fewer than 18 pitchers this season.
  2. Relievers across MLB have allowed 31% of their inherited runners to score in 2026. One of the many reasons that the Mariners are such a good team is that they allow only 20% of their inherited runners to score. They’ve also allowed just 18 homers, the fewest in the majors.
  3. The Dodgers have gone 31 games without consecutive losses. The last time they lost two or more in a row was May 9-12, when they lost four straight, two to the Braves and two to the Giants.

Extra Innings

I’d say Pedro Ramírez is here to stay. I’d be okay using Ramírez as the starter at second base with Hoerner moving to shortstop if I didn’t love Swanson’s defense so much.

They Said It

  • “I absolutely put up great at-bats tonight, and I’m proud of the work that I’ve done. But the game’s not over until it’s over. I did everything I could to help the team, but I also had a real lapse in focus, and that really could have hurt us. I’m not going to dwell on that. It’s something so simple as someone gets in your ear and says, ‘That can’t ever happen again.’ And it never happens again.” – Crow-Armstrong

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

Oh, those summer nights at the 49er Drive-In in Valparaiso, IN.

I don’t know if Bob Seger is ever going to tour again, but I do know not seeing him live will be my biggest concert regret ever. What’s yours?

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 16, 2026
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