Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/2/26): Rea Looks to Stay Hot Against Cole
All the talk around MLB is focused on Tarik Skubal going to the Dodgers, a move that will directly impact the Cubs when the lefty takes the mound for LA in the next few days. The expectation is that he’ll go either Monday on short rest or Tuesday to give him a little more time to acclimate while setting up the rest of the rotation. There are all sorts of conflicting takes on the move, but I’ll just say I’m glad Skubal isn’t going to the Brewers.
The Cubs were in the mix, but they were never going to part with the same kind of package — two top-100 prospects and a high-upside righty who was drafted in the third round out of high school in 2023 — for a rental. With a 10-game division lead and Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching status still unknown, not to mention their willingness to invest more than any other team in their on-field product, the Dodgers had no qualms about making a splash.
Even after trading away Zyhir Hope (25) and River Ryan (68), LA has seven top-100 prospects in their system. They don’t just buy the best free agents, they also have one of the best development pipelines in the game. They are the Amazon of professional sports right now, and it’s going to take a lot to dethrone them. That said, they are not unbeatable.
We’ll see firsthand whether the Cubs can prove that in the next few days, but we need to get back to Sunday’s action for now. Colin Rea is on the bump for the rubber match after making one of his best starts of the season in a win over the Cardinals last week. Maybe he heard me talking about how the Cubs needed to trade for a starter to replace him in the rotation. I don’t feel particularly good about a repeat performance, so I’m hoping my reverse karmic influence comes through.
The best baseball player on the planet right now is leading off in center, and Pete Crow-Armstrong (7.2 fWAR) has a chance to extend his fWAR lead over second-place Yordan Álvarez (5.4) to two full games. Ohtani gets closer when you combine his hitting (3.4) and pitching (3.0), but PCA is gaining ground with each game. To put the gap in perspective, only 88 of 1,340 total MLB hitters have accumulated more than 1.8 fWAR this season. In other words, the gap between PCA and everyone else is a productive player.
Seiya Suzuki is no slouch himself, and he’s batting second in right. Michael Busch, who was acquired for Hope and Jackson Ferris in January of 2024, bats third at first. Third baseman Alex Bregman is the cleanup hitter, Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Pedro Ramírez is the DH. Dansby Swanson plays short and Miguel Amaya handles the catching duties this afternoon.
They’ve got a tall task ahead of them with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the visitors. Once considered the best pitcher in baseball, Cole is advancing into the latter years of a massive contract he signed ahead of the 2020 season. He was a workhorse who could be counted on for 30+ starts and 200+ innings every year, but that changed with his elbow reconstruction in 2025.
Elbow inflammation had actually kept him out for most of the first half of 2024, then he missed all of last season and the first two months of this year recovering from surgery. While his numbers aren’t going to put him in the Cy Young conversation, he’s still throwing 97 mph with a good slider. Like so many other intimidating power pitchers, Cole isn’t afraid to challenge hitters with strikes.
His 5.0% walk rate is the lowest of his career and one of the best in the league, but he’s still striking batters out at an above-average clip. That can lead to a lot of barrels and hard hits, very few of which are on the ground, so his mistakes can go a long way in the other direction. The impeccable walk rate keeps those big hits from being more damaging, which allows him to be aggressive.
I’d say the Cubs need to take advantage of those tendencies, but there is a very strong wind blowing in from right this afternoon. It figures to be around 14-15 mph with gusts up to 27, potentially neutralizing left-handed hitters. Cole has done a good enough job of that on his own, posting serious reverse splits through 12 starts. He has been much worse on the road, however, so perhaps the Cubs can use that to their advantage.
About two-thirds of Cole’s pitches will be either fastball or slider, with righty hitters seeing those two pitches more than three-quarters of the time. Lefties see a much heavier dose of changeups, so it’s interesting that they’re hitting so much worse when that pitch hasn’t been very good. Keeping them off the barrel with his heater is the real key for Cole.
Interestingly enough, Swanson has had the most success against Cole out of this lineup, going 4-for-11 with two homers and a double to post a 1.364 OPS. Even if that holds, which isn’t likely, this might be another one in which the bats just need to hold on and try to get into the bullpen. Not that the Yankees are weak in that regard, but that’s how last night’s game was won.
First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
