The Cubs head out west, starting a series in Seattle tonight, and then heading to Phoenix to face the Diamondbacks. It’s always just a little bit tougher going west, and these are both theoretically competitive teams, so you can’t count on a couple series wins. That said, we’ve definitely entered the phase of the season where, if the Cubs want any realistic chance of coming back in the division and getting a first-round bye, they can scarcely afford to be losing too many series.
Alex Bregman, a top-ten hitter in baseball:Five new sluggers enter the latest Hitter Power Rankings! ? pic.twitter.com/9DfTsQakAO
— MLB (@MLB) August 20, 2026 Bregman has been so scorching hot since just before the All-Star break that he’s got his season line up to .255/.345/.404/111 wRC+, a feat that would’ve seemed impossible a couple months ago (through July 10 – more than half of the season – it was .235/.333/.338/91). I don’t know whether he’s a top-ten hitter in baseball, but he’s a pretty critical one in this Cubs lineup. For the national folks who continue to misunderstand the relative value of PCA’s defense and Ohtani’s pitching thus far:Here is the breakdown for each player pic.twitter.com/noxvbKtCXx
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) August 20, 2026 A defender’s work and a pitcher’s work are ultimately trying to do the same thing: prevent runs from scoring. So far this year, PCA has contributed just a little more value on that side than Ohtani has, in large part because Ohtani (1) does not play a defensive position when he’s not pitching, and (2) hasn’t been pitching for several months now. If Ohtani comes back and throws four or five dominant starts? That changes the calculus, both narratively and statistically. But no one (with a brain) is arguing that PCA is a lock to win MVP already – we’re only saying that, if the season ended today, it would be a very, very easy and obvious call that he should be the MVP. More value on offense. More value on defense. More value on the bases. This week, we discussed how it was unrealistic to start dreaming on Shelby Miller showing up and impacting the big league bullpen down the stretch until and unless he were making more frequent appearances on his rehab assignment. Through four such appearances, he’d received two full days’ rest each time. That is obviously not possible when you’re pitching in a competitive big league bullpen, especially if it’s a tight race. Well, right on cue, Miller’s next appearance came after just one day of rest. A back-to-back will be the big test, but this is another good step. He struck out the two batters he faced (the stuff continues to look really nasty, though I’m not as sure about the command, which often takes longer to come back). Long-time Cubs prospect Kohl Franklin is healthy and pitching very well at Triple-A Iowa:Kohl Franklin was really good tonight in his best start with @IowaCubs. 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. The one run scored in the first inning and the runner quite clearly never touched home plate on what should have been an outfield assist.
— Jason Kempf (@jkempradio) August 20, 2026 The decision the Cubs will have to make on Franklin, 26, is whether to put him on the 40-man roster at the end of this season to avoid him leaving in minor league free agency. The stuff has always been premium, but the arm health just hasn’t been consistent enough for him to really reach his ceiling. He’s still young enough that it could come, though, and I think it’s very interesting that the Cubs are committed to stretching him back out as a starter even with relatively little time left in the season. It makes me think – particularly when you consider the exodus of big league starters into free agency that looms – the Cubs are inclined to roster Franklin after the season if he stays healthy and looks like a plausible future starting pitcher, even if as an up-down/depth type to begin. He’s got four pitches, he reaches 96 mph, and he has the starter build. I’ll have to dig in on this prospect, but I can already speculate that the lockout will be a problem:The Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, and Padres are among the teams interested in RHP Shoki Oda.The Yokohama High School standout has not announced his decision between pursuing a career stateside or declaring for the 2026 NPB Draft in October. pic.twitter.com/c1oCe8ATSo
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) August 21, 2026 He might have to decide whether he will forgo signing with an NPB team without knowing for certain when he’ll actually be able to finalize a deal with an MLB team – heck, if he’s unsigned before the lockout (which he would be unless he signs very quickly in the current IFA period, when teams have a lot less money available), he wouldn’t even be able to negotiate prices. Pretty funny addendum to the famous Andre Dawson story:I saw that Hawk wanted to be a @Cubs I told Dallas he could keep $100,000 of my salary if he signed him? He sent me a long letter explaining where he was at and for Me to stay out of it?? It helped end the crap we were going thru ? t.co/DBZHwjQOBx
— Rick Sutcliffe (@Sut_40) August 20, 2026 This slide changed my life:?????? ??, ???? | ?Alex Avila hits a walk-off single in the 10th as the Cubs sweep the Blue Jays!Javy's slide is electric pic.twitter.com/5lyWgusiJ3
— This Day in Chicago Sports (@ChiSportsDay) August 20, 2026 Not sure why you’d bring Da Pope a Cubs jersey at this point, but I’m good if the Supreme Pontiff wants to ask his boss about hooking the Cubs up with a World Series run:Last week at the Vatican, I presented Pope Leo with a Cubs jersey honoring him as the 267th Bishop of Rome.We talked Cubs, his beloved White Sox, and I asked him for a little blessing to help our chances at an all-Chicago World Series.Even from the Vatican, the Pope still… pic.twitter.com/GTrA8cVbyp
— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) August 19, 2026 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about bregman s turnaround pca s value miller s outing franklin s return and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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