Chicago Cubs Roster
- NL Central
- Stadium
- Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks (forearm) will not start in Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox due to left forearm tightness. Wicks picked up the injury after his last start between Saturday and his previous start on Tuesday. The 24-year-old is considered day-to-day and will miss at least one start. Hayden Wesneski will replace Wicks on Sunday. Wesneski owns a 0.16 WHIP and a 3:0 K: BB across 6 1/3 innings in 2024. The Red Sox offense just put up 17 runs on the Cubs and is firing on all cylinders heading into the series finale, making Wesneski a risky fantasy streamer or DFS play on Sunday.
Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (hamstring) is moving on to the next step of his rehab and is likely to pitch for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, according to skipper Craig Counsell. The 28-year-old tossed 47 pitches in an extended spring game in Arizona on Friday and has seemingly come out of the outing feeling fine. The southpaw tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers but suffered a hamstring strain that has cost him significant time. Steele was in Cy Young contention for much of the 2023 season before struggling late in the year but still posted a 3.06 ERA and a 19.6% K-BB% on the back of an elite 5% BB% across 30 starts a season ago.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga picked up his fourth win of the season in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Red Sox. The lefty looked fantastic again, going six-and-a-third innings allowing five hits, walking one, and striking out seven batters. A solo home run to Tyler O'Neill was the only real blemish in the outing. He's now got a sparkling 0.98 ERA through five starts with a 0.80 WHIP and has struck out 28 batters to just three walks in 27 2/3 IP. The southpaw's next start lines up with the Mets next Wednesday at Citi Field.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele (hamstring) threw 47 pitches in 2 1/3 innings in an extended spring game on Friday in Arizona. Steele will continue his rehab program there for now, but pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said on Thursday that the hurler should be able to start shifting into a five-day routine following his recent period of building up his workload. The 28-year-old star left-hander is recuperating from a strained left hamstring, and while it's unclear how long his rehab stint will last, Steele might be able to get back into Chicago's rotation in early May if all continues to go well in his recovery. Rookie right-hander Ben Brown has shown some promise with a 3.72 ERA (2.88 FIP), 1.03 WHIP, and 18:6 K:BB over 19 1/3 innings (six appearances) for the Cubs, and he'll be a decent streaming option for fantasy managers in Saturday's scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad has been one of the most underrated pitchers this season. The right-hander continued his strong campaign against the Houston Astros on Thursday. Assad threw 5 2/3 innings while allowing only one run in a no-decision. The Cubs didn't decide to make noise with the bats until Assad was out of the game. Despite the no-decision, Assad remains a sleeper in fantasy leagues. His next matchup will come against the New York Mets next week.