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Fresh off a sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Colorado Rockies will welcome the Chicago Cubs for their first home series of 2015.
With the Cubs comes a new face in the dugout in manager Joe Maddon, who came to the north side of Chicago from the Rays in the offseason after Rick Renteria was fired. Cubs president Theo Epstein now has his marquee manager to go with a bevy of prospects that have arrived recently or will be arriving soon. Maddon, along with some on-field additions, made the Cubs the talk of the 2014-15 offseason and for the first time in several years, they have expectations to live up to in 2015.
Hitters to watch
As of now, the headliner for the Cubs offense is first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The 25-year-old Rizzo hit .286/.386/.527 last season in 140 games, clubbing 32 home runs and 61 extra-base hits en route to 5.1 rWAR in 2014. His 153 wRC+ in 2014 was the best among National League first baseman and was second among all first baseman behind only Jose Abreu. Rizzo was hitless in Chicago's first two games against St. Louis and sports an OPS of just .663 in his career against the Rockies and just .657 at Coors Field. Nevertheless, he is the Cubs' most dangerous offensive weapon.
Joining Rizzo in the Cubs' lineup is rookie right fielder Jorge Soler. The 23-year-old Cuban defector made his big league debut last season, hitting .292/.330/.573 with five home runs in 97 plate appearances after raking at three minor league levels to the tune of an 1.132 OPS and 15 home runs in just 200 at bats.
Also of note is the man at the top of the Cubs' order, former Rockie Dexter Fowler. Fowler was traded to the Cubs from Houston in the offseason after posting a .774 OPS in his lone season with the Astros.
Notable by his absence is third baseman Kris Bryant, who was rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the game coming into 2015 after hitting 43 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. Despite the nine long balls he hit in spring training, Bryant is starting the season in Iowa.
Chicago Cubs 2014 offensive statistics
| Name | G | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | WAR |
| Anthony Rizzo | 140 | 616 | 32 | 89 | 78 | 5 | 11.90% | 18.80% | 0.24 | 0.311 | 0.286 | 0.386 | 0.527 | 0.397 | 153 | -0.6 | 36.1 | -3.8 | 5.6 |
| Luis Valbuena | 149 | 547 | 16 | 68 | 51 | 1 | 11.90% | 20.70% | 0.186 | 0.294 | 0.249 | 0.341 | 0.435 | 0.342 | 116 | 0.6 | 10.3 | -1.1 | 2.8 |
| Starlin Castro | 134 | 569 | 14 | 58 | 65 | 4 | 6.20% | 17.60% | 0.146 | 0.337 | 0.292 | 0.339 | 0.438 | 0.341 | 115 | -4.7 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Welington Castillo | 110 | 417 | 13 | 28 | 46 | 0 | 6.20% | 24.50% | 0.153 | 0.288 | 0.237 | 0.296 | 0.389 | 0.306 | 91 | -1.9 | -6.2 | 15.3 | 2.4 |
| Chris Coghlan | 125 | 432 | 9 | 50 | 41 | 7 | 9.00% | 18.80% | 0.169 | 0.337 | 0.283 | 0.352 | 0.452 | 0.353 | 123 | 2.3 | 13.6 | -5.4 | 2.3 |
| Emilio Bonifacio | 69 | 298 | 2 | 35 | 18 | 14 | 5.40% | 16.40% | 0.094 | 0.333 | 0.279 | 0.318 | 0.373 | 0.305 | 91 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 8.5 | 2 |
| Travis Wood | 41 | 66 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 1.50% | 25.80% | 0.196 | 0.278 | 0.232 | 0.271 | 0.429 | 0.309 | 93 | 0 | -0.5 | 6.8 | 0.9 |
| Jorge Soler | 24 | 97 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 1 | 6.20% | 24.70% | 0.281 | 0.339 | 0.292 | 0.33 | 0.573 | 0.386 | 146 | 0.2 | 5.2 | -1.6 | 0.7 |
| Darwin Barney | 72 | 217 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 4.10% | 14.30% | 0.098 | 0.262 | 0.23 | 0.265 | 0.328 | 0.26 | 60 | 1 | -8.8 | 7.1 | 0.5 |
| Justin Ruggiano | 81 | 250 | 6 | 29 | 28 | 2 | 7.20% | 28.00% | 0.147 | 0.375 | 0.281 | 0.337 | 0.429 | 0.337 | 113 | -1.1 | 2.4 | -5.9 | 0.4 |
| Arismendy Alcantara | 70 | 300 | 10 | 31 | 29 | 8 | 5.70% | 31.00% | 0.162 | 0.266 | 0.205 | 0.254 | 0.367 | 0.275 | 70 | 2.9 | -7.2 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Jake Arrieta | 26 | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4.30% | 34.00% | 0.103 | 0.304 | 0.179 | 0.22 | 0.282 | 0.223 | 35 | 0 | -3.5 | 4.8 | 0.3 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 17 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 26.30% | 0.088 | 0.231 | 0.176 | 0.167 | 0.265 | 0.181 | 6 | 0 | -4 | 3.9 | 0.1 |
| Edwin Jackson | 29 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 47.70% | 0.05 | 0.368 | 0.175 | 0.175 | 0.225 | 0.176 | 2 | 0 | -4.9 | 4.5 | 0.1 |
| Ryan Sweeney | 77 | 226 | 3 | 22 | 20 | 0 | 6.60% | 14.60% | 0.087 | 0.285 | 0.251 | 0.304 | 0.338 | 0.285 | 77 | 0.6 | -5.2 | -0.6 | 0.1 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 14 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.00% | 36.70% | 0 | 0.231 | 0.125 | 0.222 | 0.125 | 0.176 | 2 | 0 | -3.3 | 3.1 | 0.1 |
| Brian Schlitter | 61 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.892 | 491 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Felix Doubront | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.50% | 62.50% | 0 | 0.5 | 0.143 | 0.25 | 0.143 | 0.198 | 17 | 0 | -0.8 | 0.8 | 0 |
| Dan Straily | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.345 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Dallas Beeler | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 0 | 0.5 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.223 | 34 | 0 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Chris Valaika | 44 | 131 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 5.30% | 26.70% | 0.107 | 0.298 | 0.231 | 0.282 | 0.339 | 0.276 | 71 | -0.7 | -5 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Rafael Lopez | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14.30% | 28.60% | 0 | 0.25 | 0.182 | 0.286 | 0.182 | 0.226 | 36 | 0 | -1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Jason Hammel | 17 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60% | 35.90% | 0 | 0.238 | 0.143 | 0.167 | 0.143 | 0.143 | -20 | 0 | -5.3 | 4 | 0 |
| Justin Grimm | 73 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100 | 0 | -0.5 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Chris Rusin | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 33.30% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100 | 0 | -0.7 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Jacob Turner | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 70.00% | 0 | 0.333 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.089 | -57 | 0 | -1.8 | 1 | 0 |
| Eric Jokisch | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 20.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100 | 0 | -1.2 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
| Matt Szczur | 33 | 66 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6.10% | 16.70% | 0.129 | 0.245 | 0.226 | 0.273 | 0.355 | 0.28 | 74 | 0.7 | -1.2 | -1.4 | -0.1 |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 13 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.20% | 41.70% | 0 | 0.1 | 0.05 | 0.095 | 0.05 | 0.075 | -66 | 0 | -4.5 | 2.5 | -0.1 |
| Carlos Villanueva | 42 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 46.20% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100 | 0 | -3.2 | 1.3 | -0.2 |
| Eli Whiteside | 8 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00% | 30.80% | 0.04 | 0.167 | 0.12 | 0.115 | 0.16 | 0.118 | -37 | 0.2 | -3.8 | -0.1 | -0.3 |
| Logan Watkins | 31 | 68 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1.50% | 23.50% | 0.092 | 0.313 | 0.246 | 0.269 | 0.338 | 0.264 | 62 | 0.7 | -2.2 | -3.1 | -0.4 |
| Mike Olt | 89 | 258 | 12 | 23 | 33 | 0 | 9.70% | 38.80% | 0.196 | 0.203 | 0.16 | 0.248 | 0.356 | 0.27 | 66 | -0.3 | -10.1 | -2.7 | -0.6 |
| Ryan Kalish | 57 | 130 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 6.20% | 21.50% | 0.099 | 0.323 | 0.248 | 0.295 | 0.347 | 0.282 | 75 | -0.3 | -3.9 | -7.5 | -0.8 |
| Nate Schierholtz | 99 | 341 | 6 | 29 | 33 | 4 | 5.30% | 22.30% | 0.109 | 0.228 | 0.192 | 0.24 | 0.3 | 0.242 | 47 | 0.4 | -19.8 | 1.9 | -0.9 |
| Javier Baez | 52 | 229 | 9 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 6.60% | 41.50% | 0.155 | 0.248 | 0.169 | 0.227 | 0.324 | 0.248 | 51 | 0.8 | -11.7 | -3 | -0.9 |
| John Baker | 68 | 208 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 9.10% | 27.90% | 0.038 | 0.278 | 0.192 | 0.273 | 0.231 | 0.23 | 39 | -1.1 | -15.3 | 0.8 | -0.9 |
| Junior Lake | 108 | 326 | 9 | 30 | 25 | 7 | 4.30% | 33.70% | 0.14 | 0.293 | 0.211 | 0.246 | 0.351 | 0.264 | 62 | 1.7 | -12.2 | -6 | -0.9 |
Pitchers to watch
Thanks to a rainout on Tuesday, the Rockies will miss both Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta this weekend, leaving them to face the back end of the Cubs' rotation. Travis Wood, Friday's starter, led the Cubs with 173 2/3 innings pitched in 2014, posting a 5.03 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in his 31 starts.
He will be followed by former Rockie Jason Hammel, who made 17 starts with the Cubs last season before being traded to Oakland. Hammel had a 2.98 ERA with the Cubs last season and a 3.47 ERA overall. Closing out the series is 24-year-old Kyle Hendricks, who had a 2.46 ERA in 80 1/3 innings last season, including a performance at Coors Field on August 7 that saw him allow two runs, one earned, on five hits in eight innings.
Third-year closer Hector Rondon will be called upon to save games for the Cubs after converting 29 of 33 save opportunities in 2014. He is joined in the bullpen by hard-throwing righties Pedro Strop and Jason Motte. Phil Coke will be called upon to face lefties out of the bullpen.
Chicago Cubs 2014 pitching statistics
| Name | W | L | SV | G | GS | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | BABIP | LOB% | GB% | HR/FB | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WAR |
| Jake Arrieta | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 25 | 156.2 | 9.59 | 2.36 | 0.29 | 0.274 | 74.20% | 49.20% | 4.50% | 2.53 | 2.26 | 2.73 | 5.1 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 2 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 108 | 8.58 | 2.58 | 0.58 | 0.305 | 72.90% | 52.50% | 8.50% | 2.83 | 3.1 | 3.19 | 2.2 |
| Jason Hammel | 8 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 108.2 | 8.61 | 1.9 | 0.83 | 0.272 | 78.40% | 41.50% | 9.30% | 2.98 | 3.19 | 3.21 | 2.1 |
| Hector Rondon | 4 | 4 | 29 | 64 | 0 | 63.1 | 8.95 | 2.13 | 0.28 | 0.286 | 71.70% | 49.20% | 4.10% | 2.42 | 2.26 | 2.81 | 1.6 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 7 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 80.1 | 5.27 | 1.68 | 0.45 | 0.271 | 78.50% | 47.80% | 4.90% | 2.46 | 3.32 | 3.92 | 1.6 |
| Travis Wood | 8 | 13 | 0 | 31 | 31 | 173.2 | 7.57 | 3.94 | 1.04 | 0.32 | 66.50% | 34.40% | 8.80% | 5.03 | 4.38 | 4.51 | 1.3 |
| Carlos Villanueva | 5 | 7 | 2 | 42 | 5 | 77.2 | 8.34 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.342 | 67.30% | 41.30% | 6.50% | 4.64 | 3.13 | 3.61 | 1.2 |
| Pedro Strop | 2 | 4 | 2 | 65 | 0 | 61 | 10.48 | 3.69 | 0.3 | 0.268 | 75.50% | 55.00% | 6.90% | 2.21 | 2.66 | 2.82 | 1.1 |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 69.1 | 7.4 | 2.47 | 0.91 | 0.296 | 77.00% | 35.90% | 8.20% | 3.25 | 3.75 | 3.96 | 0.9 |
| Neil Ramirez | 3 | 3 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 43.2 | 10.92 | 3.5 | 0.41 | 0.262 | 81.90% | 26.00% | 3.80% | 1.44 | 2.61 | 3.48 | 0.8 |
| Edwin Jackson | 6 | 15 | 0 | 28 | 27 | 140.2 | 7.87 | 4.03 | 1.15 | 0.352 | 61.80% | 39.40% | 11.90% | 6.33 | 4.45 | 4.12 | 0.7 |
| Justin Grimm | 5 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 69 | 9.13 | 3.52 | 0.52 | 0.294 | 68.70% | 49.50% | 6.10% | 3.78 | 3.2 | 3.63 | 0.6 |
| Brian Schlitter | 2 | 3 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 56.1 | 4.95 | 3.04 | 0.32 | 0.298 | 65.60% | 59.90% | 5.70% | 4.15 | 3.61 | 3.92 | 0.3 |
| Wesley Wright | 0 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 0 | 48.1 | 6.89 | 3.54 | 0.37 | 0.309 | 75.50% | 52.10% | 5.70% | 3.17 | 3.44 | 3.8 | 0.3 |
| Blake Parker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 21 | 10.29 | 1.71 | 1.29 | 0.35 | 63.00% | 31.70% | 10.30% | 5.14 | 3.28 | 3.12 | 0.2 |
| Dallas Beeler | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 4.91 | 5.73 | 0 | 0.303 | 70.60% | 58.10% | 0.00% | 3.27 | 3.95 | 4.96 | 0.1 |
| Felix Doubront | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20.1 | 3.54 | 3.1 | 0.89 | 0.286 | 76.30% | 44.80% | 9.50% | 3.98 | 4.66 | 4.65 | 0.1 |
| Dan Straily | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 13.2 | 8.56 | 5.93 | 0.66 | 0.396 | 35.00% | 33.30% | 4.80% | 11.85 | 4.38 | 5.32 | 0.1 |
| Jacob Turner | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 34.2 | 4.41 | 2.6 | 1.04 | 0.322 | 53.90% | 43.90% | 10.50% | 6.49 | 4.52 | 4.37 | 0 |
| Chris Rusin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12.2 | 5.68 | 3.55 | 0.71 | 0.341 | 56.10% | 47.70% | 6.70% | 7.11 | 4.08 | 4.52 | 0 |
| John Baker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 6.13 | 7.37 | 0 |
| Kyuji Fujikawa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 11.77 | 4.15 | 1.38 | 0.432 | 77.60% | 43.60% | 15.40% | 4.85 | 4.36 | 3.6 | 0 |
| Arodys Vizcaino | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 1.8 | 0.286 | 75.80% | 40.00% | 16.70% | 5.4 | 5.93 | 4.82 | 0 |
| Zac Rosscup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 13.1 | 14.18 | 8.1 | 1.35 | 0.387 | 51.70% | 28.10% | 13.30% | 9.45 | 4.63 | 4.07 | -0.1 |
| James Russell | 0 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 33.1 | 7.02 | 4.32 | 0.81 | 0.219 | 73.40% | 40.90% | 7.70% | 3.51 | 4.27 | 4.55 | -0.1 |
| Eric Jokisch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14.1 | 6.28 | 2.51 | 1.88 | 0.306 | 89.90% | 51.00% | 23.10% | 1.88 | 5.3 | 3.7 | -0.2 |
| Jose Veras | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 13.1 | 8.78 | 7.43 | 1.35 | 0.286 | 60.30% | 51.40% | 20.00% | 8.1 | 6.28 | 5.26 | -0.3 |
Pitching matchups
Friday, April 10: Travis Wood vs. Tyler Matzek
Saturday, April 11: Jason Hammel vs. Kyle Kendrick
Sunday, April 12: Kyle Hendricks vs. Jordan Lyles
Read more about the Cubs at Bleed Cubbie Blue, SB Nation's Cubs blog.