Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/23/24): Hendricks Starts in Miami

I should be high above the Great Plains when this goes out, so this will again be abbreviated even though Southwest’s wifi is probably the most reliable I’ve experienced. It’s really more about the Cubs facing a ragtag bunch of Marlins who aren’t even attempting to play competitive baseball after trading away whoever they could at the deadline. Several other players are injured, so this has more of a spring training feel to it.

That said, it’s always possible Miami’s bats could come alive and their pitching staff suddenly turns into a bunch of aces. Until then, we’ll operate under the assumption that Kyle Hendricks can hold the Fish at bay. The offense is never a guarantee for the Cubs, though the bottom of the order has remained much better since figuring things out last month. At the very least, they should be able to put up some runs over the next three games.

Going for the Marlins is 25-year-old Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick from back in the shortened 2020 draft. He’s been pretty good in the minors and has put up big strikeout numbers, but that hasn’t translated to the bigs. In 10 career starts, Meyer has a 5.83 ERA with 39 punchies and 14 walks over 46.1 innings.

The real problem for him has been the home run ball, with 11 allowed overall and nine this year alone over his eight starts. A slider-first guy who throws his 88 mph breaker over 40% of the time, Meyer doesn’t get out of the zone enough to get the kinds of bad swings he needs. What’s worse, the 94 mph four-seam he throws about 40% of the time too often sits middle-middle for loud contact.

His average 91.4 mph exit velocity allowed puts him in the first percentile among all MLB pitchers. Unless he figures something out tonight, the Cubs have an opportunity to have a little fun. As I’ve noted far too often, however, there’s a non-zero chance that this group makes Meyer look like a dude worthy of that lofty draft pick.

First pitch is at 6:10pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.