How are the ex-Cubs doing – Playoff edition

A semi-regular feature showing how former Cub players are doing, this time focusing on how ex-Cubs in the playoffs.

Position Players

There were not many ex-Cubs position players playing in these playoffs, with 4 of the 6 playing for the Phillies and Tigers.

#	Name	Team	wRC+	PA	HR	OPS
1	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	139	18	2	.903
2	Javier Báez	DET	122	33	1	.802
3	Cody Bellinger	NYY	67	31	1	.651
4	Zach McKinstry	DET	34	34	0	.445
5	Nick Castellanos	PHI	-2	15	0	.400
6	Miles Mastrobuoni	SEA	-100	1	0	.000

I decided to sort by wRC+, as WAR does not really work in the post-season. It’s not a surprise that Kyle Schwarber leads up the group, as he was one of the few Phillies to hit well in the series against the Dodgers. Javy Baez brought back some of the early season magic, to finish second on this list, doing particularly well in the Wild Card with an OPS of 1.000.

Cody Bellinger had an OK postseason, but it wasn’t nearly enough to get the Yankees past the Blue Jays, and now he’s a free against again. Zach McKinstry and Nick Castellanos struggled in the playoffs – although playing in the Wild Card gave McKinstry twice the number of plate appearances. Based on his regular and post-season, Castellanos is looking like a very bad contract.

The only player still alive in this group is Miles Mastrobuoni, who has only one plate appearance, where he struck out.

Pitchers

#	Name	Team	ERA	xERA	G	IP
1	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	0.00	1.81	2	2.1
2	Trevor Megill	MIL	0.00	2.98	4	3.0
3	Brendon Little	TOR	3.00	13.70	4	3.0
4	Jeremiah Estrada	SDP	3.38	3.21	2	2.2
5	Tommy Nance	TOR	13.50	12.94	2	1.1
6	Yu Darvish	SDP	18.00	5.53	1	1.0
7	David Robertson	PHI	54.00	11.69	1	0.1

Aroldis Chapman and Trevor Megill have been the best relievers formerly of the Cubs, with neither allowing an earned run. Chapman closed out his great year with two good performances, and should be a force for the Red Sox out of the bullpen next year.

Megill had a goof first inning in Game 5 against the Cubs, but may be expected in ore of a setup role for Abner Uribe during the NLCS.

Tow lesser known former Cubs, Tommy Nance and Brendon Little have been pitching in relief for the Blue Jays – though Nance was left of the ALCS roster.

Yu Darvish has a poor outing in the deciding Game 3 of the Wild Card against the Cubs, and could have been on the hook for more runs. Meanwhile, teammate Jeremiah Estrada gave up a run to the Cubs in game 1, which does not seem like much, but turned out to be a big insurance run. He did better limiting the damage in Game 3, keeping the game much closer than it might have been.

David Robertson, after signing a late season deal with the Phillies, had a decent regular season. but he only faced 3 batters in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. He came in at the end of the 6th and induced a ground out to help Philadelphia maintain a lead. But he was pulled in the top of the 7th after allowing a hit and hitting a man. Both of those runners scored on a 2-out home run by Teoscar Hernandez off Matt Strahm, giving Robertson a 54.00 ERA, which he would not have the chance to improve.

At this point, it does not appear very likely that any former Cubs will have much impact in the rest of the playoffs.