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The Chicago Cubs will need dominating pitcher Jake Arrieta to bring out his inner bear when taking on Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Wednesday night’s NL Wild Card Game—what is sure to be a hard-fought, low-scoring affair.

The Cubs, parched after ages of championship drought, have cobbled together an impressive season despite—or perhaps thanks to—a young lineup. The Pirates, in a similar situation two seasons ago, enter as the more seasoned group. Both teams find themselves entering the postseason with one of the three best records in the majors, yet neither have spent considerable time as the MLB‘s marquee teams.

As some have pointed out, including these two squads, this season’s pennant race consists of some atypical contenders:

Unusual, particularly in this instance, does not mean unappealing. Fans and analysts alike have shown a keen interest in this one-game matchup which many believe will be an insufficient showcase of these two squads:

One fan, and likely many more, is even altering his health habits in his pursuit to see this contest:

More than any other baseball game, this one will be won or lost by the right arms of starting pitchers Arrieta and Cole:

To get a better sense of exactly the kind of gunslinging talent we’re working with, check out Fox Sports MLB’s breakdown of their performances when facing each other this season:

Arrieta is almost undeniably the single greatest reason why the championship-ailing Cubs are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With the Cy Young Award contender leading the charge, Chicago enters this matchup with droves of momentum.

In fact, it’s a historical amount of momentum:

Perhaps it’s the reason that Arrieta is so confident heading into battle.

According to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat, the ace pitcher said that his opposition is a team he’s “comfortable with analyzing, scouting and pitching against.”

He added that the Pirates have “an extremely balanced group of guys in that order who can make a lot of things happen,” but that he feels “confident I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys with different sequences.”

“I intend to have some pretty good success,” Arrieta said.

He took to Twitter to convey an even stronger message of confidence:

The Pirates are the owners of the preferred matchup statistic, however:

Despite this, Cole, by contrast, has been more reserved in his pregame predictions.

In a statement reported by the AP (h/t CBS Chicago), the Pittsburgh pitcher stated that “there’s a lot of luck involved” in these playoff contests. Of the other factors, Cole said, “there’s a lot of little details that matter. And the team that takes care of those the best comes out on top usually.”

As one fan pointed out, the key to both teams’ success will be besting these blue-chip pitchers:

In essence, then, the men braving their bruising throws at the plate may be most important. For tonight, those players will be:

While the order that they’ll be taking to the plate has changed, certain things likely won’t.

Take Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, for example. Facing Cole, Chicago will need to see that he continues to produce at this high a level:

However, according to USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale, much like his teammate, Rizzo isn’t concerned:

On the flip side, the Pirates will rely on center fielder Andrew McCutchen to put some wear on Arrieta‘s arm.

Pirate’s catcher Francisco Cervelli clearly feels that he’s up to the task:

After scrapping through what will no doubt be a grueling nine innings, the winner of this contest will be rewarded with a challenging series against the division rival St. Louis Cardinals, who, according to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch, have made their starting pitcher selection for Friday’s game:

In regard to Wednesday night’s showdown, like IGN says, there will be no personal biases. However, riding Arrieta‘s hot hand, the Cubs look mighty ferocious. And besides, everyone already knows this one has been decided for years:

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Last October gave us one of the most impressive one-man performances in Major League Baseball postseason history. 

Madison Bumgarner made seven appearances for the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 postseason, and they needed every single inning he gave them as they marched to their third World Series title in five years.

Bumgarner had a 1.03 ERA in 52.2 innings, and his five shutout innings in relief in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals was one of the more memorable relief outings of any playoffs in the game’s long history.

Bumgarner is not in this year’s postseason, but that does not mean there are no candidates to put together the kind of month that would rival his. While pitchers are part of the pool, there are also position players in the mix who could carry their clubs the way Carlos Beltran did for the Houston Astros in 2004.

As this postseason gets underway Tuesday, we’ll look at some of the players poised to have that kind of impact. While all of them are entirely capable, the last one listed has the best chance to replicate Bumgarner’s success.

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We made it. The end is here, and all that remains is the ever-entertaining postseason that never disappoints with its drama and intrigue.

Major League Baseball’s marathon season comes to an end Sunday. It has given us plenty of feel-good, fluffy stories as well as its fair share of controversy and ugliness. And both types were present right up until the end—the Minnesota Twins were the nice storyline, and Jonathan Papelbon gave us the despicable.

With a couple of days until the official postseason starts on Tuesday, most of the talk will be looking forward into October and how the rest of the month might play out. For now, tough, it is time to take a look back at the regular season’s biggest storylines.

Not all of them will make it, but the ones you’re about to read are all significant and helped shape the last six months. So, before we get into the best part of the baseball season, here are the events and happenings that got us here.

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To say that Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta had a good second half to his season would be an understatement—a big one.

In his last start of the regular season Friday night, the Cubs ace delivered six innings of two-hit, shutout baseball and seven strikeouts against the Milwaukee Brewers. Another dominating performance brought his second-half ERA to a minuscule 0.75, the lowest in baseball history, according to statistician Ryan M. Spaeder.

Arrieta also tallied off another quality start, as the Cubs pointed out on Twitter:

Spaeder delved deeper into the 29-year-old’s second half, noting that he gave up just four earned runs during the months of August and September combined, saving his best stuff for the final push of the season. In his final 12 starts, Arrieta had a 0.40 ERA.

His play in August was ridiculous, as ESPN Stats & Info showed:

Arrieta is in line for a league-best 22nd win of the season to go with just six losses and an overall ERA of 1.77, which is somehow second in the National League behind that of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Zack Greinke (1.68). 

Arrieta has anchored a pitching staff that has helped deliver the Cubs their first postseason berth since 2008, and he will most likely get the ball in their one-game wild-card playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, Oct. 7. 

Regardless of how the Cubs finish the season, it’s safe to assume Arrieta is going to be among the final names up for the National League Cy Young Award after his history-making second half.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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The historic accolades are flowing in for Jake Arrieta.

And with those, the Chicago Cubs ace is setting himself up to bring in the big one—the National League Cy Young Award. 

Arrieta made Cubs history Tuesday night when he threw a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11 in another dominant performance. This one came against the lowly Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, and it was closed out with a weak ground-ball out and a standing ovation from the home fans.

The win was Arrieta’s 20th of the year, making him the first Cubs pitcher to win that many in a single season since Jon Lieber did it in 2001.

“When a guy gets that opportunity and eventually does that, that’s something you can never take away from him,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters after the game, noting that five-man rotations and pitch counts work against such a milestone in this era. “Historically, you always look at the 20-game winners and what that means. I know in one sense it doesn’t really mean as much as people think. On a personal level and historically, there is a significance.”

Chicago Sun-Times‘ Chris De Luca shared the newspaper’s back page, highlighting Arrieta’s record-setting win:

Our back page on Jake Arrieta @JArrieta34 notching No. 20 #Cubs pic.twitter.com/BAbU1WDJc1

— Chris De Luca (@ChrisDeLuca) September 23, 2015

Arrieta also has a no-hitter this season to go with his 20 wins, and he is only the second pitcher to win 20 games for the franchise in the last 23 years (Greg Maddux did it in 1992) and the seventh Cub to accomplish the feat in the last 51 years. Tuesday’s performance was also Arrieta’s team-record 18th consecutive quality start.

While the win and quality start—which is defined by an outing of at least six innings and no more than three earned runs allowed—have been downgraded in this era of advanced metrics and better ways to gauge a pitcher’s contribution and value, the feats are still impressive.

“It just means I’ve put my team in positions to win ballgames,” Arrieta told reporters. “At the end of the day, that’s our goal, to try to pile on as many as we can, especially where we’re at in the season.” The team’s official Twitter account noted Arrieta set a franchise record for “consecutive quality starts”:

.@JArrieta34 has set a franchise record (dating back to 1914) with 18 consecutive quality starts. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/Ov2CHaET01

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 23, 2015

Arrieta’s run-prevention prowess stands out in his ERA, which has now ducked further under 2.00. With a 1.88 mark, Arrieta could become the first Cubs starter to post a sub-2.00 ERA since Pete Alexander in 1920, per STATS, which was the start of the Live Ball Era but still a year in which pitchers dominated, as illustrated by FanGraphs.

Arrieta also joined his chief Cy Young competition, Los Angeles Dodgers co-ace Zack Greinke, as the only pitchers in the majors with ERAs below 2.00. If both hurlers stay in that rarified air, this would be the first season since 1985 in which two pitchers posted sub-2.00 ERAs.

“Maybe this winter, sitting in Austin, Texas, in some pub, he might let out a nice holler about the whole thing,” Maddon told reporters. “It’s quite an accomplishment, especially the way he’s doing it. It’s been pretty remarkable to watch.”

The Cy Young Award, for now at least, is still being hotly contested.

Greinke, the likely front-runner in the race at this point, has a lower ERA (1.65) than Arrieta, and entering Tuesday, he had a better strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.14 to 4.45), WHIP (0.85 to 0.92), strand rate (86.6 percent to 79.1), ERA+ (227 to 201) and Baseball-Reference.com wins above replacement (8.7 to 7.4).

However, because Arrieta has superior strikeouts numbers, he had a better FIP (2.51 to 2.77) and FanGraphs WAR (6.2 to 5.5). Both those stats put a heavy emphasis on strikeouts.

And if you really like strikeouts, Greinke’s teammate and the reigning NL MVP and Cy Young winner, Clayton Kershaw, is likely to snatch a strong percentage of the votes. He leads the league in fWAR, strikeouts per nine (11.39), strikeout rate (32.9 percent), FIP (2.09) and xFIP (2.17). He also has a 2.18 ERA that could drop into the Greinke-Arietta realm over his next couple of starts, giving us three starters with sub-2.00 ERAs in a single season.

Arrieta has something else going for him, though, even if people might not want to admit it. He is a Cub, arguably the most recognizable sports franchise in North America. He is also the underdog of the three favorites, and voters can sometimes lean in that direction.

So, because he plays for a popular team and is the surprise candidate, much in the way R.A. Dickey was with the New York Mets in 2012, Arrieta could get a good number of on-the-fence voters.

Make no mistake, though: He is a stellar candidate worthy of such an honor, more so than Dickey was when he surprisingly beat out Kershaw.

There are still two or three starts to be made by this trio of outstanding pitchers, and it might come down to their final outings before we know who is the winner.

For now, we can enjoy the show.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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A magical season on the North Side of Chicago hit another high point Tuesday when ace Jake Arrieta threw a complete-game shutout in the Chicago Cubs‘ 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Arrieta became the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach the 20-win plateau and trimmed the Cubs’ magic number to reach the postseason to three.

The right-hander struck out 11 hitters and lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.88 in a potential Cy Young campaign that already includes a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in August.

The Chicago Tribune shared a photo of the triumphant Arrieta celebrating with his teammates:

The Cubs have not reached the playoffs since 2008 and are understandably thrilled with the way this season has progressed behind Arrieta, Jon Lester and a host of young stars such as Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. The team’s Twitter account reflected on the year as a whole during the celebration of Arrieta’s accomplishment:

The 20-win mark was not the only impressive number Arrieta reached Tuesday. Per the team, he set a franchise record with 18 consecutive quality starts and became the first Cubs pitcher since 2001 to win 20 games in a season. Baseball Tonight noted Arrieta is the first Cubs hurler to win 20 before anyone else in the majors since Rick Sutcliffe did so in 1984. 

Despite the impressive accomplishment, Arrieta already had his eyes on his next start after the brief celebration, per Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago: “I know the results have been good, but I don’t dwell on it for too long, because tomorrow I’m getting ready for Pittsburgh.”

That dedication goes a long way toward explaining Arrieta’s victory total.

In today’s analytics-driven baseball world, the perceived value of pitcher wins has declined in recent years for more effective stats such as WHIP and fielding independent pitching. However, Bomani Jones of ESPN pointed out there is still something magical about reaching 20 in a season:

While Arrieta was the main attraction during Tuesday’s victory, Bryant also made some history when he drilled a two-run home run in the third inning. The Chicago Sun-Times noted the third baseman broke the team record Billy Williams held for most home runs as a rookie with 26.

Bryant’s three RBI were more than enough for Arrieta to pick up win No. 20. 

Perhaps the only concern for Cubs fans with October around the corner is the fact their ace threw 123 pitches Tuesday. He has already far surpassed his previous career high of 156.2 innings pitched in a season, although Drew Silva of Hardball Talk acknowledged Arrieta seems to be getting stronger as the campaign progresses:

The numbers support that claim. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out Arrieta’s shutout lowered his ERA since Aug. 4 to a stunning 0.48, which is the fourth-best mark in a 10-game stretch since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913.

The only question now for the Cubs as they hurdle toward the postseason is who will start the National League Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Pirates (if the standings hold). Arrieta would seem like the obvious choice, but Lester has started 12 postseason games with a career 2.57 ERA.

Arrieta, on the other hand, has never appeared in a postseason contest. 

Still, former pitcher and current Fox Sports analyst Dontrelle Willis believes Arrieta has done enough to merit the start:

If the Chicago ace pitches like he did Tuesday in that wild-card showdown, Cubs fans will get to see more than just one playoff game this year.

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LOS ANGELES — Jake Arrieta’s solidification came loud, clear and dominant.

No-hitters tend to do that. But when they do it for an ace on the rise who’s on a team thinking about the World Series, they do so with more authority.

Already in the midst of greatness this season, the Chicago Cubs’ right-hander fired the game of his life Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, striking out 12 on his way to a no-hitter and a 2-0 Cubs win.

His ball danced. It ducked. It shimmied. It disappeared. And there was almost nothing the Dodgers could do about it except rely on a scorekeeper’s call to keep them from being no-hit for the second time in 10 days.

The no-hitter was Arrieta’s 14th consecutive quality start, the most for a Cubs pitcher since Greg Maddux in 1992. He was already hot coming in, but this latest outing proved him to be one of Major League Baseball’s premier aces.

“He has that kind of stuff nightly,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s really crazy. The ball looks like a whiffle ball from the side. You can see the break on the slider, the cutter and the curveball.

“Right now he’s pitching at a different level. And he deserves it. This is not a surprise at all.”

Nor should it be. Arrieta was already a topic for the national media this season, and talk of the 29-year-old was ramping up as the Cubs visited markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles.

National media exists in the Midwest, and it existed in New York when he and the Cubs visited there a couple months ago. But, as Maddon noted, his star is different right now. The Cubs are legitimate playoff threats, and Arrieta is showing to be their ace.

On the Cubs’ latest road trip through the Bay Area and Southern California, the national media was out to talk to Arrieta, not just about his team’s surprising rise but about his own out-of-nowhere emergence as one of the league’s top starters.

In both cities he was posed questions about what has changed for him—what has taken him from a starter too familiar with disappointment to one capable of dominating an entire league and possibly starting a wild-card game with his team’s life on the line.

“I guess you want to get used to that kind of stuff,” Arrieta said. “It means you’ve been good for a while, right?”

His last 52 starts, not counting for the occasional hiccup, would definitely qualify as being good for more than a while. Going into this no-hitter, Arrieta, 29, had a 2.37 ERA, 0.986 WHIP and 2.42 FIP in two full seasons with the Cubs, covering the previous 51 turns.

In parts of four seasons with the Baltimore Orioles before being traded in 2013, he had a 5.46 ERA in 69 games, 63 of them starts for a right-hander who was rated as a top-100 prospect in consecutive years by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

That was a time when Arrieta was out of his baseball mind, entrenched in overthinking his delivery and what others—coaches, scouts, other pitchers—thought he should look like.

Then, as he was finding ways to rid himself of that thinking, Baltimore traded him for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman. The Orioles had given up on Arrieta because they needed bullpen help in the midst of a playoff run. Arrieta was not finding success in the big leagues fast enough, and Baltimore’s then-current needs trumped its desire to wait him out.

“Sometimes it’s just a change of scenery, and it can be a bit of a wake-up call for guys when they get traded,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “I don’t know his situation specifically, but I think we look at him and we know he’s a handful.”

In a way it did shake up Arrieta. It prompted him to stop thinking so much and to focus more on the art of pitching, not the mechanics of it. His delivery became freer, his fastball ticked up an mph and the rest of his arsenal fell in line.

The results were immediate.

Arrieta pitched 13 innings and allowed one run in his first two starts with the Cubs, and he finished that season with eight more starts, allowing two runs in his final two games. Then, last season, he blossomed. He was dominant in 25 starts, striking out 9.6 hitters per nine innings and giving the Cubs a 2.53 ERA in 156.2 innings, earning a ninth-place finish in the Cy Young Award voting.

The numbers say he’s been just as good this season with his 2.22 ERA and 2.57 FIP entering Sunday. The difference is he is doing it for longer—he’s pitched 183 innings this year—and for a contending team trying to secure a postseason berth.

And that ninth-place finish last season should improve considering he’s been the undisputed ace of the staff even with Jon Lester’s $155 million pact from last offseason.

“I don’t know who has better stuff,” Maddon, who saw plenty of the Baltimore Arrieta when he managed the Tampa Bay Rays before this year, said of him. “The slider’s the best. The curveball, I want to know who has a better curveball. But, to me, the biggest difference is he knows where his fastball is going.”

With it and the rest of his weaponry, Arrieta has propelled himself into the upper echelon of National League starting pitchers, along with helping the Cubs and their faithful dream of breaking their World Series curse.

With that would come entirely new forms of questions, ones Arrieta would also be perfectly happy answering.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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There’s what Jake Arrieta used to be, and then there’s what Jake Arrieta is.

It’s an important distinction to make. What Arrieta used to be is a major disappointment. What he is now, however, is an ace-level pitcher who should be a rock in the Chicago Cubs‘ rotation for years to come.

Wednesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the Cubs acquiring Arrieta—along with Pedro Strop—from the Baltimore Orioles for veteran right-hander Scott Feldman. For the Cubs, the trade meant swapping a successful reclamation project for a longer-term, higher-ceiling reclamation project.

Arrieta had racked up a 5.46 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Orioles, but he had been a top-100 prospect as recently as 2010 and was still only 27. 

“We think Arrieta, getting him out of the American League East and getting him into our environment, we’re hopeful he can turn the corner,” said Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, via ESPN.com.

The now-28-year-old right-hander showed progress with the Cubs in 2013, posting a respectable 3.66 ERA in nine starts. If nothing else, it was something to build off.

And man oh man has he built off it in 2014.

After flirting with a perfect game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 24, Arrieta flirted with a no-hitter in a 2-0 Cubs win over the Boston Red Sox Monday night. And though he settled for 7.2 innings of one-hit, shutout ball, he still wrapped up the most impressive June of any pitcher this side of Clayton Kershaw.

As Carrie Muskat of MLB.com noted:

After his superb June, Arrieta‘s ERA for the season now stands at 1.81.

And that’s not a misleading ERA, as Arrieta‘s earned it by getting better at doing everything that matters, via FanGraphs:

Whereas the old Arrieta was mediocre-to-bad at striking guys out, limiting walks and home runs and keeping the ball on the ground, the new Arrieta is now quite good at these things. 

And it’s to his credit that he’s made this happen.

Because of how big a problem walks had been for him, what might stand out the most is Arrieta‘s improved walk rate. That’s what happens when a guy goes from a 61.2 strike rate to a 63.8 strike rate.

And it’s how this has happened that’s really interesting.

Rather than simply hitting the strike zone, Arrieta now seems more interested in living on the edges of the zone. BaseballSavant.com can tell us that he’s gotten pretty good at that, and that site and FanGraphs can tell us how he’s also enjoyed two corresponding benefits: more called strikes and more swings outside the zone.

Like so:

How is Arrieta doing it, exactly?

Well, these things are usually mechanical in nature. Arrieta‘s improvement, apparently, is no different.

“Probably 90 percent of pitching for me as a starter is really getting in tune with your body and being able to repeat a delivery a hundred times in a row,” Arrieta recently told ESPN Chicago’s Sahadev Sharma. “And really, that’s the goal. If you can repeat a delivery consistently, you’re gonna see the benefits of that in your command.”

Arrieta indeed has done a better job of repeating his delivery. We can tell that by using TexasLeaguers.com to compare his 2012-2013 release points…

To his 2014 release points:

What you see above is a much tighter cluster than in the 2012-2013 graphic. Arrieta‘s release-point consistency isn’t on par with Cliff Lee’s just yet, but it’s definitely better.

There’s where his improved command is coming from. And while that also helps explain how he’s gotten harder to hit, another equally important explanation there has to do with Arrieta‘s new pitch selection.

The one thing Arrieta always packed before 2014 was good heat. And he still does, as FanGraphs has him 17th among starters (minimum 60 innings) with an average fastball of 93.5 miles per hour.

But Arrieta no longer relies so heavily on his hard stuff. Whereas he never threw fewer than 60 percent fastballs between 2010 and 2013, he’s now throwing only 51.3 percent fastballs.

According to Brooks Baseball, part of that entails Arrieta throwing four-seamers less frequently than ever. Per the pitch-type benchmarks Harry Pavlidis offered at Hardball Times, four-seamers have easily the lowest ground-ball rate and easily the highest fly-ball rate of all pitches. As such, we’re looking at a solid explanation for Arrieta‘s increased ground-ball habit and decreased home run habit.

But the big change in Arrieta‘s pitch selection concerns the use of his slider, which has skyrocketed to a career-high 25.9 percent.

And rightfully so.

Arrieta has a pretty good curveball and changeup, too, but his slider is especially nasty. That’s largely because of how, per the Baseball Prospectus PITCHf/x leaderboards, his is the fastest slider among starters this year at an average of 89.9 miles per hour. It’s a slider with cutter speed.

That’s probably why you often hear his slider referred to as a cutter. But the man himself called it a slider in talking to Sharma, and he also explained why he’s suddenly using it so much.

“The change of plane is something that obviously yields more swings and misses,” he said. “What that depth allows you to do is miss a lot more barrels and get a lot more swings and misses. It’s just something that I’ve kind of toyed around with with different grips and different ways to throw it and it’s just become very comfortable for me.” 

The numbers suggest Arrieta does have a different slider in 2014, and that missing bats has indeed been its specialty:

Pretty good stuff, this. And for the record, the 30 strikeouts Arrieta has picked up on his slider are out of 74 total. That would be one-fifth of his pitches picking up about 40 percent of his strikeouts.

If you want the ingredients for Arrieta‘s breakout in a nutshell, here they are: He’s gone from having Ubaldo Jimenez-ish command to having Greg Maddux-ish command, and what was already a very good arsenal of stuff now revolves around one unhittable offering in particular.

That’s not how all breakouts happen, but it’s definitely worked for Arrieta. And since he’s still just 28 years old, he should be able to ride his breakout through several more prime years.

And that’s a happy thought for the Cubs.

It wasn’t that long ago that it didn’t look like the Cubs were going to have an ace-type starting pitcher in their long-term plans. The best hope on that front involved signing Jeff Samardzija to an extension, but he’s made it clear enough he’s not interested.

Rather than watch him leave as a free agent after 2015, the Cubs will more than likely trade Samardzija ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Fellow right-hander Jason Hammel—who’s on a one-year deal anyway—is also likely to be dealt, leaving the Cubs with Arrieta, Travis Wood, Edwin Jackson and spare parts for their starting rotation going forward.

Thanks to Arrieta‘s breakout, that doesn’t sound like nearly as dire a situation as it might have been. He’s turned into a terrific pitcher, and he’s under Chicago’s control through 2017.

If the Cubs aren’t aggressive in extending Arrieta even further, they could probably do so later. Jackson’s $52 million contract will finish in 2016, and the arrival of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and others in the next few years should help convince Arrieta that Chicago’s North Side is a good place to be.

The Cubs acquired Arrieta hoping that he would turn into a part of the team’s future. What he’s done instead is turn into a big part of the team’s future.

I’m guessing they’ll take it.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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The 2014 Chicago Cubs broke camp in Mesa, Ariz. this week with several unanswered questions in regard to their final 25-man roster. There are several position battles which will involve players who are on the cusp of making the major league squad. 

Which players currently on the roster bubble are going to have a tough time making the team?

Let’s take a few moments to examine the players that project to be locks to make the team. 

Starting Pitchers: (Spots 1-4)

The first four roster spots will be allocated to the rotation. Samardzija, Wood and Jackson are no-brainers. Hammel should land one of the last two spots. He signed an one-year, $6 million plus-incentives deal late in January. 

Relievers: (Spots 5-9)

One of the bright spots in an overall dismal year for the 2013 Cubs was the bullpen. Both Strop and Parker showed a tremendous amount of promise and will play significant roles this season. The newly acquired Wright will team with Russell to tackle lefties. The closer duties will be handled at the onset of the season by the eight-year veteran Veras.

Position Players (Spots 10-14)

Three-fourths of the Cubs infield will be set on Opening Day with Rizzo, Barney and Castro. The backstop will be manned once again by Castillo, who had a breakout year in 2013. Schierholtz is the only outfielder who seems to have a secure spot, as the outfield situation is not as clear in center and left.

Remaining Spots: (15-25)

There are 11 roster spots left to be determined. 

Pitchers (4): Fifth Starter, Middle Relief 1, Middle Relief 2, Long Reliever

Position Players (7): Starting third base, starting center fielder, starting left fielder, backup corner-infielder, backup middle-infielder, fourth outfielder, fifth outfielder

Another position player slot could be added if Cubs manager Rick Renteria decides to go with one less reliever. 

With that said, here are a couple of potential roster spot battles to watch as the spring progresses. These players may have a tough time making the 25-man roster cut.

Starting Third Base: The Cubs seem to be willing to go with a platoon at third base involving incumbents Luis Valbuena and Donnie Murphy.

Bubble Player to Watch: Mike Olt 

One of the big questions heading into spring training is whether or not Olt is ready to make an impact on the major league level. Acquired part of the Garza trade from the Rangers last season, Olt hit .201/15/42 in Double-A and Triple-A in 2013. 

Olt shared his thoughts on the upcoming season with Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago. 

“I don’t really have anything I feel like I have to prove,” Olt said. “I know that I put in a lot of hard work and I think last year was good for me in dealing with a lot of adversity. It’s going to make me a better player and I’m going to (learn) from it.”

What are the odds of Olt making the cut?

It really depends on whether or not his vision problems have fully recovered from the concussion he suffered last offseason in the Dominican Republic winter league. Even if he has fully recovered from the concussion, he will face an uphill battle to make the squad. It seems the Cubs are set on deploying a Valbuena/Murphy third base platoon. Olt will have to have a very strong camp in order to make the team.

Fifth Starter: The fifth starter slot before camp seemed to belong to Jason Hammel. However, with the shoulder setback recently suffered by Jake Arrieta, it seems Hammel is now projected to be the fourth starter. This now opens the doors for several pitchers if Arrieta is not able to make it back by Opening Day. 

Bubble Player to Watch: Carlos Villanueva 

If Arrieta is unable to make it back by Opening Day, expect Chris Rusin and the newly acquired James McDonald to battle for the fifth and long reliever spots on the roster. This leaves Villanueva on the bubble for making the final cut. The eight-year veteran has been exceedingly average, 40-43 record, throughout his career. He started 15 games for the Cubs in 2013, going 7-8 with a 4.06 ERA.

What are the odds of Villanueva making the cut?

It’s going to be tough for Villanueva for make the team with both Rusin and McDonald ahead of him on the depth chart.

If Arrieta does come back sooner as expected and returns before Opening Day, it will be even more difficult for him to make the squad. The odds are against Villanueva unless he has a stellar spring.

Fourth and Fifth Outfielders: The only player who seems to have a spot secured in the outfield is right fielder Nate Schierholtz. The front runners for the other two starting spots are Justin Ruggiano and Junior Lake. Ruggiano, who was acquired via a trade with the Miami Marlins this past offseason, projects to play center field. Lake had a strong second half of the season with the Cubs .284/6/16 and is expected to get an opportunity to start in left.

Bubble Players to Watch: Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson

There could be only two backup outfield spots available. One of those roles going to backup center fielder Ryan Sweeney. The last outfield spot could very well come down to a group of outfielders which include Vitters and Brett Jackson.

What are the odds of Vitters and Jackson making the team?

The odds are not that good. Vitters and Jackson have had their chances in the past and have been unable to capitalize. Jackson and Vitters were both brought up to the majors in August 2012 and failed to impress. Both players struggled with big league pitching and have showed a lack of plate discipline on both minor and major league levels. Unless they can show the ability to hit consistently on the major league level, they will not get another chance at Wrigley.

Stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com

Follow @JohnAltamuraBR

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Finding a bunch of players on the verge of a “breakout” season isn’t necessarily all that hard. Finding a bunch of almost universally-undrafted players who are on the verge of a “breakout” season? That’s a little tougher.

Anyone can make a case for the Rays’ Matt Moore, the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo or the Mets’ Matt Harvey, all young promising players ready to take the step from good to great as breakout candidates in 2013. But each of them were selected in every draft out there, often in the middle rounds.

The seven players to follow, however, also may be primed for their own breakouts this season—and still may be available in the free-agent pool. So if you need some help rounding out your roster, or if you’re looking for the next who-knew pick-up, dive in. Or at least update your watch list.

Only players with an average draft position (ADP) of 260-plus on ESPN Fantasy Baseball’s Live Draft Results were considered.

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