Edward Cabrera is redefining how generations of baseball fans view the game.
Well, how fans view one pitch, at least.
Cabrera boasts a changeup that he throws at 93 mph — faster than Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon throw their fastball.
There is only a 3 mph difference between Cabrera’s changeup (93) and his fastball (96 mph) so far in 2026.
So, he’s not really changing speed all that much — a pillar of what the changeup has done throughout most of baseball history.
Still, it’s a super effective pitch for Cabrera, as he has thrown 71 changeups so far this season, and opponents have still not gotten a hit off it. Then again, to be fair, Cabrera has allowed only 2 hits so far this season (12 innings). But the point remains, and is supported by Statcast, which currently rates it as the most valuable changeup in baseball this season (it ranked 15th best last year).
In any case, if you can believe it, Cabrera’s 93 MPH changeup velocity is actually down a touch this year in a small sample — he averaged 94.2 mph on the pitch in 2025.
This season, only one starting pitcher in baseball throws their changeup at a higher velocity — Pittsburgh Pirates starter Bubba Chandler, who averages just 0.1 mph more than Cabrera (93.1 mph).
It has been a go-to pitch for Cabrera in the early going, as he has thrown it a whopping 40.1% of the time through his first two starts (heading into Saturday’s outing).
“I have a lot of trust in my changeup,” Cabrera said through interpreter Fredy Quevedo Jr. “I feel like I can throw it in any count.”
That confidence is evident. Cabrera’s very first pitch in a Cubs uniform was a changeup to lead off the game against the Angels. It marked the first time a Cubs pitcher had started a game with a changeup since Jake Arrieta did it in June 2021.
It's the first time a Cubs pitcher has started the game with a changeup since 2021 (June 4 – Jake Arrieta vs. SFG). t.co/Vq6UhrN1vn
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) March 31, 2026Of course, it’s still very early in Cabrera’s Cubs tenure. But what a start it has been — he hasn’t allowed a run and was an out away Sunday from compiling back-to-back quality starts to open his Chicago career.
However, the Cubs actually feel like Cabrera has some room to grow, particularly with throwing more strikes. He walked 5 batters Sunday in Cleveland.
“It’s a long season, but he’s got a great arm,” Jed Hoyer said. “You can see the talent every time he goes out there. Hopefully gonna stack good starts on top of each other and realize you don’t have to strike everybody out with our team.
“We’re gonna catch the ball for him, and hopefully he gains comfort in that and that pushes him in the strike zone even more.”
© Rick Scuteri-Imagn ImagesThe Cubs boast one of the best defenses in the game, with Gold Glovers in center field (Pete Crow-Armstrong), left field (Ian Happ), third base (Alex Bregman), shortstop (Dansby Swanson), and second base (Nico Hoerner). Plus, Michael Busch at first base rates as one of the top defensive first basemen in the game and may win a Gold Glove of his own in the future.
Walks have been an issue at times for Cabrera throughout his career, as he has averaged 4.5 free passes per 9 innings over his time in the big leagues. But he showed big improvement in that area last season in Miami (3.1 BB/9), and, as Hoyer said, it’s an emphasis with the Cubs this season.
With Cade Horton done for the year and Matthew Boyd currently on the IL, Cabrera has become an even more important part of the Cubs’ rotation.
The 27-year-old (he turns 28 on Monday) knows that he can’t put more pressure on himself right now.
“Unfortunate news that happened,” Cabrera said. “But with me, whenever I go out there, I try to just help the team, give it my absolute best, and go out there and try to win the game.”
While Cabrera is getting to know a new team and organization for the first time in his career, he is also getting used to a brand new environment, pitching for the Cubs in Chicago.
He experienced the largest home crowd of his career during his first start at Wrigley Field with 36,702 fans. His 44 home starts with the Marlins all featured a smaller crowd, as the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro reported:
Edward Cabrera pitched in front of the largest home crowd of his career tonight (36,702) at Wrigley.In his 44 career home games with Marlins, the average crowd in Miami was 11,118 fans.That includes the Marlins drawing ~34,000 last year twice in games he started. Pretty wild.
— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) March 31, 2026“It’s the fanbase,” Cabrera said. “It’s something that I didn’t experience in Miami, but it’s great to see how they show the love, and you feel the love.
“It feels super good, but I try not to think too much about it. I try to go out there and do my job and give it my absolute best.”
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