Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/22/26): Peterson Opposing Mariners’ Big Rookie Debut
Last night’s game was another forgettable one, with the Cubs falling in extras despite hitting four home runs. The problem is that three of them were solo shots, though that wasn’t as big of a problem as the fact that Alex Bregman‘s dinger with Michael Busch on second base represented the team’s only hit in 16 tries with men in scoring position. Yikes. Gotta be better tonight.
After a brief exile to the bullpen, David Peterson is back in the rotation to replace Edward Cabrera. The Cubs had planned to use Cabrera as a starter for a while before transitioning him to the ‘pen, but that was before he opted to conceal a blister that led to him pitching like crap. That move has been either hastened or postponed, depending on how you view it, with Peterson once again serving as an emergency replacement.
The righty has more or less flipped his performance since joining the Cubs, which was to be expected after escaping the Mets’ dumpster fire. After putting up a 6.09 ERA with a 3.84 FIP in front of a mediocre defense, he’s had a 4.06 ERA and 4.26 FIP with his new team. The big downside is that his strikeout rate dropped from 19.7% to 17% at the same time, a small but important change.
Peterson often feels like he’s getting away with something when he’s out there, which he sort of is. But that is the value of having an elite defense behind you. He just needs to keep getting the job done.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has led off three of the last four games with a homer, and he’s back in his familiar role tonight. Seiya Suzuki is the DH, Bregman is at third, Busch is at first, and Nico Hoerner is the shortstop. Tyrone Taylor patrols right, Pedro Ramírez is at second, Kevin Alcantara gets a rare start in left, and Miguel Amaya is the catcher.
On the mound against them in his big league debut is lefty Kade Anderson, the top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball. Anderson was the No. 3 overall pick out of LSU last year, and he went straight to Double-A this year, then skipped Triple-A entirely after 18 starts. He maintained his monster strikeout numbers from college, but also managed to slash his walk and home run rates as a pro. The result is a 10.38 K/BB ratio that is greater than most pitchers’ K/9 marks.
Even considering the level of competition, his 1.06 ERA and 1.78 FIP are absurd. The whip-like southpaw underwent Tommy John (RIP) surgery as a high school junior in 2022, forcing him to miss his last two prep seasons. He pitched well as a freshman at LSU, then became the best pitcher in college baseball as a sophomore with a riding fastball, mid-80s slider, and sinking changeup. He’s also got a low-80s curve that he’s throwing a little less in favor of the slider.
His heater only sits around 93 mph, but he can dial it up to 97 when things are going well. I’m interested to see whether the adrenaline has him throwing harder and/or with a little less control than he’s displayed to this point. This will be a tough task for Anderson because the Cubs have the best offense in MLB against lefties, and it’s not particularly close.
Tonight’s game starts at 6:15pm CT on FOX and The Score, which is a problem for local viewers because the Bears preseason game is also on FOX this evening. That means the Bears are on FOX 32 and the Cubs will move to FOX Chicago+ on Channel 50. Viewers outside the Chicago and Seattle markets might have trouble finding the game because FOX is also carrying Dodgers/Pirates and Giants/Red Sox at the same time.
