Javier

Assad

Assad did a great job of keeping the Cubs in the game, giving up only a solo homer to MJ Melendez, but it might not stop the Cubs from sending him down Monday. Expectations are that Matthew Boyd will return to take Assad’s rotation spot next time through.

On the plus side, Boyd racked up six strikeouts on the afternoon while allowing only one base on balls. He threw 64 pitches in the contest — 46 of them for strikes — while his fastball topped out at 94.5 mph. The expectation is that he’ll now be cleared to rejoin the Cubs’ rotation next week, likely at the expense of Jaiver Assad.

This was a rough one. Assad served up a staggering 11 hits, including a pair of home runs to Kyle Schwarber. Pretty much the only positive here is that he was able to work into the middle innings to somewhat save Chicago’s bullpen. It was an unexpected meltdown after a strong season debut against the Rays last week. Assad figures to be the odd man out once Matthew Boyd (biceps) is ready to return from the injured list at some point next week. He remains in line to take the ball against the Mets on Sunday.

Assad scattered one hit while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks during an impressive season debut in place of an injured Matthew Boyd (biceps). The 28-year-old righty carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning before Rays speedster Chandler Simpson reached on an infield single to second base. Here’s an oversimplification: He’s not going back to Triple-A Iowa after this performance, especially with Cade Horton (elbow) set to miss the rest of the season. He’ll get the ball on Monday against the Phillies in a road matchup before facing the Mets to close out a two-start week. There’s some streaming appeal here in extremely deep mixed leagues.

It’s a devastating development for the Cubs, and fantasy managers, after Horton blossomed into an upper-echelon fantasy contributor during the second half of last season and looked like a rotation mainstay for years to come. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect hit the injured list over the weekend with a forearm strain after leaving his second start of the season after just 17 pitches. It’s unclear whether he’ll undergo a full Tommy John reconstruction or a less invasive internal brace procedure, which would expedite his return to the majors. It’ll be Colin Rea and Javier Assad tasked with picking up the slack in Chicago’s rotation moving forward.

With Matthew Boyd (biceps) on the injured list, Assad will start on Tuesday in Tampa Bay. Even though it’s a solid matchup, Assad has allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits in seven innings at Triple-A this year with a 7/6 K/BB ratio. He should not be relied on in any fantasy formats.

That was not what we wanted to hear. Horton was removed after signaling to the dugout following his 17th pitch of the game against the Guardians. The Cubs won’t want to take chances with their 24-year-old, so he’ll probably go on the IL even if they get good news from here. Colin Rea could replace him in the rotation, with Javier Assad perhaps being called up to pitch in middle relief.

The team wants Assad to remain stretched out as a starter, so he will pitch in the rotation in Triple-A. This means that Ben Brown has made the Cubs’ Opening Day roster as a reliever. While the Cubs have not officially transitioned Brown to the bullpen, it likely remains the best fit for his skillset.

The two big blows against Assad were 342- and 349-foot home runs. The 28-year-old’s velocity was again better than normal, and he threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 17 batters he faced. If Jarren Duran could have jumped a little higher on Vinnie Pasquantino’s first homer and Jon Berti’s had gone a foot to the right, it would have been a solid outing.

Assad averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball today, which is up 2.2 mph from last year and 2.9 mph from when he started 29 games for the Cubs two years ago. It was just a one-day thing, either, as he was at 94.1 mph in his two spring outings. Assad has always been effective for the Cubs in spite of mediocre peripherals — he has a career 3.43 ERA with a 4.46 FIP, a 4.68 SIERA and a 4.76 xERA — and if the extra velocity sticks around, there’s a good chance he’ll be helpful again. It would just probably be as a middle reliever initially.