Pitching Matchups Almost Set for Cubs vs. Diamondbacks

The Chicago Cubs open their first set of regular season games after the Tokyo Series on Thursday, with the pitching matchups against the Arizona Diamondbacks nearly set. 

Cubs' ace Justin Steele will take the mound on Thursday against former All-Star Zac Gallen, who finished third in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2023. Steele, like the rest of the team, is looking to bounce back from his performance in Japan, where he gave up five earned runs over four innings pitched in his start against Los Angeles. 

Game 2 will feature Jameson Taillon against veteran right-hander Merrill Kelly, who spent a good chunk of 2024 on the injured list with shoulder issues. After struggling in his first year with Chicago, Taillon had a major bounce back in 2024. The former Yankee compiled a 3.27 ERA over 165.1 innings for the Cubs last season and he is looking to continue serving as a reliable component of the starting rotation. Taillon has two years remaining on his contract with Chicago. 

Shota Imanaga will make his second start of the season on Saturday in a duel with 2025 breakout candidate Brandon Pfaadt. Although the Cubs dropped the game, Imanaga was stellar in his Opening Day start in Japan, compiling four no-hit innings against the fierce Dodgers lineup. 

Imanaga enjoyed a fantastic initial season in MLB last year despite his tendency to give up a lot of fly balls. At times, his success looked effortless and the 31-year-old southpaw is looking to build on his 2.91 ERA in 2024. 

The Cubs will avoid having to face Arizona's new ace Corbin Burnes, whose start was pushed back after an apparent error on manager Torey Lovullo's part. The Cubs have not named a starter for the fourth and final game of the series on Sunday, but the Snakes will have Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. Matthew Boyd and Ben Brown are the likely candidates to toe the rubber in Sunday's contest. The Cubs haven't named Brown the fifth starter yet, but he is the likely candidate with Javier Assad starting the year on the injured list. 

Brown would give the Cubs rotation much-needed velocity (96.4 mph average in 2024) and strikeout ability (28.8 K% in 2024). Before going down with a neck osteoma last June, Brown looked like the most dominant Cubs' starter at times with his blistering fastball and wipeout knuckle-curveball. Brown has also been incorporating a changeup into his pitch-mix this Spring, which would only strengthen his already promising potential as a starter.