Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season. |
CHICAGO – Cubs lefty Ryan Rolison first met Cade Townsend when the pitching prospect was just getting his Ole Miss journey started as a freshman two offseasons ago. Rolison already had some Major League experience under his belt, so the young righty wanted to tap into that resource. Also an Ole Miss product, Rolison has trained in Oxford, Miss., for the past two winters with his wife working within the university’s athletic department. And as Rolison connected and chatted with Townsend during the offseasons, the 29-year-old lefty was blown away by the younger pitcher. Townsend picked his brain on recovery and routine. They dove into pitching specifics, discussing how certain pitches can play off each other. Townsend talked through how he tried to set up hitters. Rolison almost forgot he was talking to a college freshman. “When I was a freshman coming in, I wasn’t anywhere near that,” Rolison said. “The biggest thing about Cade is, in all of our talks, we talked about how to be successful at the big league level. And he had kind of a broader vision. In college, you can get carried away with whatever’s going on in the moment. “His eyes were already on how he could be the best pitcher he could be in the big leagues. I was impressed.” |
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Last week, the Cubs selected the 21-year-old Townsend with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft. The right-hander said hearing Chicago call his name was a “dream” for him and his family, and he mentioned having already heard great things about the Cubs’ organization and the team’s pitching infrastructure from Rolison. Townsend hit it off with Tyler Zombro, the Cubs vice president of pitching strategy, and others in the team’s player development arm in a pre-Draft Zoom call and at the Draft combine. Zombro also chatted with Rolison throughout the process, especially as it became clearer that Townsend might be there for the Cubs with the 23rd pick. “I was able to shed some light on his work ethic and off-the-field stuff, how good of a guy he is,” Rolison said. “And then on Draft day, just being in contact with Zombro, he was like, ‘He might be in play for us today.’ To see it come to fruition was really exciting.” |
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Similar to Townsend, Rolison was a first-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2018, when the Rockies selected him 22nd overall. The lefty’s road to the Majors took several turns, leading to parts of seven years spent in the Minors. There were injuries and setbacks, a tough first MLB tour (7.02 ERA in ‘25 for Colorado), and then three offseason transactions that ended with Rolison being claimed off waivers by the Cubs in January. Rolison joined a Chicago bullpen in need in mid-April and has since grown into one of the standout arms in the relief corps this season, posting a 2.72 ERA through 33 outings. It has been a success story for the Cubs’ pitching group, and offers a reason why the lefty believes Townsend is in good hands. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to be successful,” Rolison said. “I just texted him and said, ‘Congratulations, I know you've got a lot going on. I’m just super happy for you. It’s a super great organization you're getting into. And they're going to help you get the full potential out of yourself.’” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
FIRST LOOK AT CUBS' 2027 SCHEDULE |
MLB recently announced its ‘27 regular-season schedule. Let’s look at some of the highlights from the Cubs’ six-month slate: Opening Day: The Cubs will host the Guardians on March 25 at Wrigley Field to begin the ‘27 season. It will be part of a six-game opening homestand from March 25-31 that features both Cleveland and the rival Cardinals. Brewers and Cardinals: The Cubs will host the rival Brewers twice in ‘27: April 26-28 and Aug. 30-Sept. 1. Chicago’s trips up north to American Family Field fall on May 17-20 and then Sept. 6-8. The Cubs and Cards square off March 29-31 and July 1-4 at Wrigley, plus May 28-30 and Aug. 9-11 in St. Louis. White Sox: The North Siders and South Siders will renew their crosstown rivalry on July 16-18 at Wrigley Field. Chicago’s teams will then head to Rate Field on Aug. 6-8 for the second installment of the yearly clash. West Coast swing: The Cubs will have a three-city trek to face Colorado, San Diego and San Francisco from June 18-27. An added wrinkle will be a scheduled doubleheader against the Padres on June 22. All-Star Week: After finishing up the first half on the road (Detroit, July 9-11), the All-Star festivities will be underway in Chicago and in and around Wrigley Field. The Home Run Derby will fall on July 12 with the first Midsummer Classic at the Friendly Confines since 1990 landing the next day on July 13. Other highlights: The Cubs will head to the Bronx to face the Yankees from April 30-May 2, and will host the Red Sox on July 30-Aug. 1 at Wrigley Field. Chicago will finish the regular season on the road with a trip through Philadelphia and New York (at Mets) from Sept. 21-26. |
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Who was the last Cubs pitcher to eclipse 200 innings in a single season? A. Kyle Hendricks B. Jon Lester C. Jake Arrieta D. Ryan Dempster |
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'16 CUBS REUNITE FOR 10-YEAR PARTY |
Saturday at Wrigley Field was an all-out celebration of the Cubs team that hoisted the World Series trophy in 2016 to end the franchise’s 108-year title drought. MLB.com’s Casey Drottar was on the scene and had great stories on the unveiling of the “Champions Gate” in Gallagher Way, plus a wild moment when Anthony Rizzo (again) wound up with a Cubs home run ball in the bleachers. |
“The guys knew what they were here for, but it was a fearless group. It's not like they walked around saying, 'Oh no, we have to do it. It's been 108 years.' It was more, 'This is an unbelievable opportunity. We're really freaking good. Let's go do this for each other and have each other's back.' It wasn't a weight – it was more an opportunity.” – Former Cubs president Theo Epstein, on the ‘16 team |
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B. Jon Lester Sticking with this week’s 2016 theme, Lester logged a team-leading 202 2/3 innings that year during the regular season for the Cubs. No Cubs pitcher has reached the 200-inning milestone since Lester in that ‘16 campaign, when he won 19 games and spun a 2.44 ERA in 32 starts. And then the big lefty worked another 35 2/3 innings in the playoffs. |
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