If the Chicago Cubs are gonna finish the year at the top of the National League Central, it's gonna take a group effort.
The offense has been doing its job as usual, putting up a whopping 12 runs in Kyle Tucker's return to Houston. According to FanGraphs, the Cubs rank in the Top 10 in average, OBP, OPS, runs, and home runs.
But the pitching will be a key part, too. Veteran Matthew Boyd has revived himself with 2.65 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, while rookie Cade Horton has been solid on the year despite having a rough 5.47 ERA in June.
For the vast majority of the year, Colin Rea has been one of the most stable veteran presences in the ball club. But he's taken a step back and Chicago might need to be worried.
Rea has a 5.19 ERA in June and had a 5.61 ERA in May. He has allowed at least four runs in five of his last ten starts.
Rea's makeup as a pitcher is not ideal.
According to Baseball Savant, his BB% percentage is in the 84th percentile, meaning he's not afraid to pound the strike zone. But his K% and Whiff% are both in the 13th percentile, meaning he can't get guys to strikeout via swing and miss.
Plus, his GB% is in the 23rd percentile, so he doesn't do a great job of getting soft contact with his curveball and sweeper, either.
Rea also has trouble going for distance, with just 59.2 innings of work in his last 11 starts. He has not cracked seven complete innings once in 2025.
Thankfully for Chicago, Shota Imanaga is back on the bump after spending nearly two months on the IL, posting five innings of shutout baseball against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
The Cubs have people in place to pick up the slack, but to hold off a surge against the Cardinals or Milwaukee Brewers for the division, Rea will need to find the version of himself fans saw in the first half of the season.
