Official 2015 Chicago Cubs predictions thread

[TL1961]

Nobody puts Mendy in the minors!

 

[NCChiFan]

Whew... So glad I didn't post any predictions on this thread, I would have been so wrong! :cubspalm: :cubstroll2:

 

[JP Hochbaum]

So many bad predictions here. The Cubs would have to play less than .500 ball to get less than 90 wins.

No one predicted a Russell or Schwarber call up so early.

No one predicted Castro being benched.

And the lone Sox fan is way off......

 

[brett05]

So many bad predictions here. The Cubs would have to play less than .500 ball to get less than 90 wins.

No one predicted a Russell or Schwarber call up so early.

No one predicted Castro being benched.

And the lone Sox fan is way off......

Uhm...Really? I was pretty much the most accurate person here.

 

[brett05]

Cubs win 70 games (Lack of pitching depth)
Cubs find out that Soler and Bryant are bonifide major league players
Arrietta becomes an ACE (Define that how you want)
Cubs Bullpen finishes just behind White Sox bullpen
Theo drafts a pitcher with his first draft pick in 2015.

EDIT: And I think Rizzo challenges Goldschmidt for best 1b in the NL

1. Wrong on the totals, right on the depth
2. I think I hit this on those two
3. Correct on Arrieta, was the first on this board to call him what he is.
4. This is close and will head down to the wire.
5. Wrong on the pick.
6. Rizzo is right there with Goldy.

So with 8 predictions I missed two and have one outstanding. So call it 5-2-1

 

[JP Hochbaum]

1. Wrong on the totals, right on the depth
2. I think I hit this on those two
3. Correct on Arrieta, was the first on this board to call him what he is.
4. This is close and will head down to the wire.
5. Wrong on the pick.
6. Rizzo is right there with Goldy.

So with 8 predictions I missed two and have one outstanding. So call it 5-2-1

I was referring to the records here

 

[Parade_Rain]

1. Wrong on the totals, right on the depth

Pitching kept the team from folding in the first half.

2. I think I hit this on those two

Since these two players were about as "can't miss" prospects as possible, this wasn't much of a prediction. Congrats on predicting the obvious.

3. Correct on Arrieta, was the first on this board to call him what he is.

Whether you were first or not, he is clearly the Ace.

4. This is close and will head down to the wire.

Go, Cubs. Go!

5. Wrong on the pick.

It will be interesting to see if/when his strategy in the draft changes.

6. Rizzo is right there with Goldy.

Yes. Rizzo has established himself as the team captain without any awkward press releases and statements from the coaching staff at Halas Hall.

So with 8 predictions I missed two and have one outstanding. So call it 5-2-1

It will be 5-3.

 

[brett05]

I was referring to the records here

In that case, yep, I failed miserably.

 

[Diehardfan]

Ok, since I never made a prediction....I'll call the winner's here.

Ok I'll play

- 86 wins good for 3rd behind St. Louis and Pittsburgh
- compete for the second WC but ultimately fall short to San Diego by 2-3 games
- agree on 25 HR from Soler, Bryant & Rizzo. Castro hits 22.
- IF On 6/15 and beyond Rizzo 1B, Russell 2B, Castro SS, Bryant 3B
- Baez spends the year at AAA
- Soler and Bryant compete for RoY but Soler wins it in a shocker

I'll give TC the nod ever so slightly over Parade as he added more details in another post that were uncannily correct.

Cubs win 82-85 games finishing 2nd in NL Central behind StL.
Cubs trade Olt and Castillo/prospects for a couple of AA/AAA pitchers with TOR potential
Cubs bring Russell up to play 3B in August. Bryant moves to LF.
Cubs lead MLB in HR.

Great calls here on Olt and Castillo not being factors but the pitcher they got for Castillo is hardly a winner.

Ill say 89 wins

Both Lester and Arrieta wins more then 15 games

Soler wins ROY

Castillo ends up the cubs starting catcher by July
Ross and Montero combine to hit .200. ; ))

Baez will be back with team by May
Bryant wont be added to team til week of 26th of April
Needs more time in OF

Olt will lock down 3B for the year

Russell stays in Iowa all year...

Cubs make a major trade at Deadline for pitching

Makes playoffs and advances to NLCS

This might be the overall winner if you're using only wins predicted as prime criteria....but the way ChiBear has them getting there is hilarious.


I think the two biggest misconceptions for nearly everyone was the play of both Soler and Castro.

 

[nwfisch]

Ok... At the start of play on August 21st, the Cubs will be 68-51.

 

[chibears55]

Ill say 89 wins

Both Lester and Arrieta wins more then 15 games

Soler wins ROY

Castillo ends up the cubs starting catcher by July
Ross and Montero combine to hit .200. ; ))

Baez will be back with team by May
Bryant wont be added to team til week of 26th of April
Needs more time in OF

Olt will lock down 3B for the year

Russell stays in Iowa all year...

Cubs make a major trade at Deadline for pitching

Makes playoffs and advances to NLCS

Their on pace for 89 + wins....

Arrieta has 15 wins now, Lester has to win out to get there

Soler not close to ROY

Castillo took over in Arizona as Catcher

About as close as you can get with Ross and Montero combined Avg.
77 hits. 361 AB. .216 Avg.


Baez wont make his return til maybe Sept.

Bryant arrived around that time

Olt locked down being injured

Russell told Iowa to shove it

They did trade for Haren, though not major

Playoffs and NLCS still in play


I'll take the wins, Arrieta, and playoffs prediction over the rest

 

[TL1961]

1. Wrong on the totals, right on the depth
2. I think I hit this on those two
3. Correct on Arrieta, was the first on this board to call him what he is.
4. This is close and will head down to the wire.
5. Wrong on the pick.
6. Rizzo is right there with Goldy.

So with 8 predictions I missed two and have one outstanding. So call it 5-2-1

You picked their season total for wins to be the win total they have on August 22nd, and say you are accurate becaus eyou went out on a limb and called Bryant a legit major leaguer?? And Soler? Who on this planet thought they weren't?

You predicted their lack of pitching depth would hold them to 70 wins, and you are considering yourself RIGHT on that? What do you consider depth issues? That their 5th starter isn't as good as their 1st? That's true on every team.

You are way, way wrong on your assessment of their pitching, no matter how you slice it. Hendricks didn't get exposed. He is a legit starter. Hammel was outstanding until he hurt his hammy. That's pretty good depth.

You say the pen will be "behind the Sox" and Rizzo is "right there with Goldy". Kind of vague. Rizzo has been outstanding, but even as well as he has played, Goldy is clearly out in front.

You were the first on Arrieta? Really?

Most here predicted win totals. And everyone else's prediction will be more accurate (unless I missed someone who picked in the 60's, but I don't think so.)

Some of us predicted playoff contention and were laughed at and ridiculed. But here we are. I had 86 wins in mind, but got too conservative and said 84. I must have allowed the naysayers to get to me. The numerous posters who said no way they could improve by 13-15 games. As it stands now, the number is likely to be 20.

 

[TL1961]

Their on pace for 89 + wins....

Arrieta has 15 wins now, Lester has to win out to get there

Soler not close to ROY

Castillo took over in Arizona as Catcher

About as close as you can get with Ross and Montero combined Avg.
77 hits. 361 AB. .216 Avg.


Baez wont make his return til maybe Sept.

Bryant arrived around that time

Olt locked down being injured

Russell told Iowa to shove it

They did trade for Haren, though not major

Playoffs and NLCS still in play


I'll take the wins, Arrieta, and playoffs prediction over the rest

I'll give you props on the win total.

Claiming Castillo would be OUR starting catcher, and having him be our 3rd catcher and get traded for a bag of balls is missing it big time. Stating that he is playing for Arizona doesn't make that prediction even close to coming true.

Olt may have gotten injured, but that is not why he didn't lock own 3rd.

You may have been wrong on Soler and ROY, but I am right with you. I thought he'd be a contender for that and was overlooked by many. I expected a lot more from him, but I am still every bit as optimistic about him as I was before the season. (Though his D scares me - he should be MUCH better.)

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Ok I'll play

- 86 wins good for 3rd behind St. Louis and Pittsburgh
- compete for the second WC but ultimately fall short to San Diego by 2-3 games
- agree on 25 HR from Soler, Bryant & Rizzo. Castro hits 22.
- IF On 6/15 and beyond Rizzo 1B, Russell 2B, Castro SS, Bryant 3B
- Baez spends the year at AAA
- Soler and Bryant compete for RoY but Soler wins it in a shocker

- probably 3-4 low on the wins. Likely right on the standings.
- probably wrong about not making the WC, definitely wrong on SD.
- no, no, yes & no
- yes, with September call ups excepted.
- Well, no. Doesn't look to be Bryant either. Likely Matt Duffy.

 

[Boobaby1]

- probably 3-4 low on the wins. Likely right on the standings.
- probably wrong about not making the WC, definitely wrong on SD.
- no, no, yes & no
- yes, with September call ups excepted.
- Well, no. Doesn't look to be Bryant either. Likely Matt Duffy.

I think it is Bryant's to lose as ROY. He had ALL of the hype coming in, and when you figure him to get in the neighborhood of 90-100 RBI's, approx. 24-25 HR's, 15-20 SB's and an above .350 OBP, to me, those are pretty solid numbers.

His average may be in the .250's, but he has also been in a slump. Anything north of that and I think he wins it hands down.

And no, I am not being a homer either. Had Grichuk not been hurt, I think he would have battled hard for the number two against Duffy and pushed Bryant, with Kang not too far off either.

BTW, Bryant was also a big part of holding the Cubs together in the beginning besides Rizzo, and now, he is starting to heat up again.

The only thing that can hurt Bryant, is himself, and Schwarber taking some of the spotlight, which is a good thing if you are a Cubs fan.

 

[TL1961]

- probably 3-4 low on the wins. Likely right on the standings.
- probably wrong about not making the WC, definitely wrong on SD.
- no, no, yes & no
- yes, with September call ups excepted.
- Well, no. Doesn't look to be Bryant either. Likely Matt Duffy.

Matt Duffy has a higher BA, but Bryant has a higher OBP, which is more important.

Slugging is even (until today, now Bryant leads slightly)

Therefore, Bryant has the better OPS

Bryant has twice the HR's, 20% more RBI and more runs scored, if we are allowed to use "old school stats".

Duffy leads only in batting average.

 

[Diehardfan]

Matt Duffy has a higher BA, but Bryant has a higher OBP, which is more important.

Slugging is even (until today, now Bryant leads slightly)

Therefore, Bryant has the better OPS

Bryant has twice the HR's, 20% more RBI and more runs scored, if we are allowed to use "old school stats".

Duffy leads only in batting average.

One thing you can be certain of is the pub some players get and others don't. Bryant was the toast of spring training with all his home runs and while he's not keeping up his torrid pace of spring, he is still doing very well and still making headlines. Now I'm not really into all the other teams like a lot of guys here are but I can say for a fact that until the Cubs played the Giants....I'd never even heard of Matt Duffy. I'm fairly certain I'm not alone....if the numbers between Bryant and Duffy are even close then Bryant will win handily.

 

[Bear Pride]

So many bad predictions here. The Cubs would have to play less than .500 ball to get less than 90 wins.

No one predicted a Russell or Schwarber call up so early.

No one predicted Castro being benched.

And the lone Sox fan is way off......

Not in this thread, but I not only predicted those call ups, I predicted that Russell would force Castro out of the lineup.

 

[JosMin]

Cubs win 70 games (Lack of pitching depth)
Cubs find out that Soler and Bryant are bonifide major league players
Arrietta becomes an ACE (Define that how you want)
Cubs Bullpen finishes just behind White Sox bullpen
Theo drafts a pitcher with his first draft pick in 2015.

EDIT: And I think Rizzo challenges Goldschmidt for best 1b in the NL

Hey Brett, we won 70 games

 

[SilenceS]

Eh, I made a bold prediction that Castro would compete for a batting title. First month looked solid. lol