3 Biggest Cubs Surprises From The First Half
From Pete Crow-Armstrong's MVP-caliber resurgence to an aging bullpen's injury crisis, discover the unexpected catalysts and setbacks fueling Chicago's surge toward a National League Wild Card spot.
Video Transcript
What is up, Cubs fans?
And welcome back to Cubs Roundtable.
I'm Joey Polizzi talking about all things Cubs.
And the first half of the regular season is complete.
And the Cubs, for the most part, played good baseball for most of it.
Outside of a rough stretch in May/June where they did go 7-22, the Cubs played pretty good baseball, and they entered the All-Star break 12 games over .500.
But there have been a lot of surprises here from this Cubs team in the first half.
The first one is Pete Car Armstrong.
I don't know if anyone expected Pete Car Armstrong to do this well to start the season.
Obviously, he was great last year in the first half.
He was kind of that MVP candidate.
Struggled in the second half.
But this year, Car Armstrong has been one of the best players in baseball.
His WAR is second in all of baseball behind Joey Otani.
He has been the most important player on this Cubs team in the first half.
Looking good on both sides, at the plate and in the outfield.
Car Armstrong really putting up an NVP caliber season so far.
The second surprising thing is Nico Horner.
Nico Horner was always this consistent hitter for the Cubs, the guy who would hit around 270, 280, potentially 300 last year.
Hit 297 at the plate, which was second in the National League.
But this year, very surprising to see Nico Horner have a 233 batting average at this point in the season.
Has not looked right at the plate this season, and he has not been that consistent hitter for the Cubs in 2026 so far.
And the last surprising thing is how many pitchers the Cubs have had to go through so far this season.
The Cubs have had to go through 33 different pitchers, the most in baseball, and the average age of those pitchers were also 31, which is the oldest in baseball.
So just a lot of pitchers the Cubs have, have had to go through so far this season with pitchers like Ben Brown, Kate Horn, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Daniel Polenta, Ethan Roberts, Hobie Milner, all at one point or a different time being on the injured list.
So Cubs have to go through a lot of different pitchers.
That has resulted in guys like Ryan Rolison, Drew Pomeranz, Tyler Ferguson, Trenton Thorton, all pitching meaningful innings for the Cubs this year.
But let me know what your most surprising thing is for the Cubs this year.
And as always, guys, go Cubs go.
