Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/24/26, Game 1): Conforto in RF, Ramírez at 3B, Assad Starting

Between Edward Cabrera leaving with a leg injury and Pete Crow-Armstrong being called out on a bizarre play, last night’s game was a doozy. Now the Cubs have a doubleheader due to Monday’s rainout, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to jump in front early again. Even with the two days off, they are going to need all the pitching they can get with nine games in the next eight days.

Javier Assad has been nails since being called back up to replace Jameson Taillon, and the Cubs could really use some length out of him this afternoon. He doesn’t need to be an ace, just a competent fill-in. Even with Matthew Boyd expected back soon, Assad should remain in the rotation with Cabrera’s loss.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting up some kind of June, with a 2.6 fWAR figure that is at least 0.8 higher than any other Cub has for the whole season. Having that kind of threat at the top of the lineup makes this team so much more dangerous, even when several others are still searching for their asses with both hands and a flashlight. Michael Conforto is getting the start in right, Michael Busch is at first, and Seiya Suzuki is the DH.

Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner plays second as he attempts to find his way out of a slump that has seen some uncharacteristically ugly swings. It looks like he’s fighting himself up there, perhaps as he works back against mechanical changes aimed at producing more pull power. Pedro Ramírez gives Alex Bregman a break at third, Miguel Amaya is the catcher, and Dansby Swanson mans short.

They’re facing former top prospect Nolan McLean, who burst onto the scene last season with a 2.06 ERA across eight starts. Drafted in the third round out of Oklahoma State three years ago, McLean rose steadily and quickly through the organization with relatively consistent numbers that didn’t necessarily jump off the page. His strikeout numbers weren’t gaudy and his ERA marks weren’t exceptional, but he stayed about the same at each level.

That has carried over to the bigs, where his numbers have been just about what they were in the minors. McLean’s strength is a heavy sinker at 95 mph that he throws with high frequency to batters on both sides. Even though right-handed hitters see it a lot more, it’s still his favorite pitch to lefties as well. His running four-seam is thrown a tick harder and stays middle up rather than staying to the arm side, and he also has a sweeper/slurve combo that have been a mixed bag.

The 85 mph sweeper tends to stay up in the zone a bit, which makes it susceptible to contact, but the slurve — which is still classified as just a curve, but has more horizontal movement than most — has a lot more depth. He’s also got a 92 mph cutter that often finds a lot of the plate, then there’s the 88 mph changeup that serves him well against lefties. McLean’s repertoire is pretty balanced, more so than we see with most pitchers.

Lefty batters have gotten the better of him, which is to be expected, though that is mostly a function of their splits against him in Queens. For whatever reason, he hasn’t pitched as well at home. The Cubs have very little experience against him, with just 18 total at-bats, but they’ve got a 1.078 OPS on the strength of three home runs. Interestingly enough, they came from righties Suzuki (2) and Swanson.

First pitch is at 12:10pm CT on Marquee and The Score.