2nd Half Cubs Predictions

I’m terrible at baseball predictions, but here are some anyway.

1. Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman will both have excellent finishes to the season. I’m especially bullish on Hoerner, as the bad luck he’s had with batting average on balls in play is unbelievable. He’s hitting the ball as hard as he did last season, but those ball are not translating into hits. Bregman’s barrel rate and hard hit rate are down this season, but hes looked better the last few weeks
   
2. PCA is going to slump, but it won’t be nearly as bad as 2025. His current pace is unsustainable, and his ability to take walks has levelelled him up as a hitter. But as pitchers realize they can’t get him out consistently with balls outside of the strike zone, they will adjust.
   
3. Trent Thornton is going to regress. Thornton has a FIP of 5.14, and 4.03 Ks/9 innings. Those are not the numbers of a reliever with a 2.48 ERA, which is what he is currently sporting. For pitchers who have pitched 20+ innings and have a FIP of 5.00 or higher, there is exactly one other pitcher in the majors with an ERA under 3.00 (Yuki Matsui of the Padres with a 5.04 FIP and 2.73 ERA). And there is only one pitcher in the majors, Chase Petty, who has 20+ innings and a lower strikeout rate.
   
4. The Cubs will not trade for a starting pitcher. With several starters set to be free agents after this season (Imanaga, Boyd and Taillon), I don’t think the Cubs can trade assets for a rental starter. And similar to last season, I think a starter with multiple years left on their contract will be too expensive. I think the Cubs punt on this, and try to make an off-season trade or free agent pickup to join Steele, Brown, Cabrera and Horton (eventually) in the rotation for 2027. I think they ride with Imanaga, Boyd, Rea, Assad, Taillon and Peterson – with the hopes that a healthy Brown and Cabrera will be there for the playoffs.
   
5. The Cubs will trade for a couple decent relievers, but no big names and no closer. Hopefully, Palencia can come back and stay healthy and effective. Milner, Roberts and Riley Martin should also be coming back. And maybe even Hunter Harvey who appears to have gone into witness protection. And they’ve been adament that Steele will not start, but maybe he could provide some relief innings. But regression is probable for a few of the current guys (Rolison, Webb and Thornton). I see them getting 2 if not 3 arms in relatively minor trades, hanging on to Alcantara, Ramirez, Shaw, Ballesteros and their Top 10 prospects.
   
6. Moises Ballesteros will regain the DH role against right-handers before the end of the season. This might be due to injury or regression from Conforto, but I think Mo rejoins the team in August and goes into the linup.
   
7. The Cubs continue to hit near the league average with runners in scoring position. They really only had one bad month – May – but it was REALLY BAD.