Chicago Cubs Lineup (2/27/25): Lots of Regulars, Wicks Starting
The undefeated Cubs welcome the potentially resurgent Angels to Sloan Park Thursday in a tilt that features a lot of regulars and a few familiar faces among the visitors. While Kyle Hendricks won’t be toeing the rubber in this one, Jorge Soler is the DH and Tim Anderson is at second base as he seeks to revive a career that fell off a cliff on the South Side two years ago.
Craig Counsell has two-thirds of a standard lineup today, with Ian Happ leading off in left and Kyle Tucker getting some action in right field with Seiya Suzuki as the DH. Michael Busch is at first, Dansby Swanson is at short, and Pete Crow-Armstrong patrols center. Carson Kelly will get plenty of PT during the season and he’s behind the plate for this one, then it’s Jon Berti at third and Nicky Lopez at second.
Jordan Wicks makes his second spring start as he tries to earn a spot in the rotation. He gave up three hits in just two innings last time out, though he did strike out two batters with no walks. He’ll need to avoid barrels and do a much better job against left-handed hitters if he wants the opportunity to work multiple innings moving forward.
Going for the Angels is 21-year-old righty Caden Dana, a 2022 draft pick out of Don Bosco Prep who blasted through the minors like several of his fellow prospects in that system The Angels love to test their young guys early and it may pay dividends, but Dana was badly overmatched in three starts last season and got shelled in his first start of the spring.
When you hear about such a young pitcher coming up so quickly, your first assumption is probably that he must throw really hard. But Dana’s fastball averages a little under 94 mph and has been very hittable in limited action. He’s got a decent gyro slider that sits around 85 mph and helped him rack up lots of strikeouts at the lower levels of the minors. His numbers tailed off at Double-A last season and he skipped Triple-A altogether, but the Angels clearly see something that tells them he’s a dude.
Perhaps he’ll show that against the Cubs this afternoon. First pitch is at 3:05pm CT on Marquee and MLB Network (out of market only because, you know, gotta protect broadcast rights for a freaking spring game).
At home against the Angels!
Watch on the Marquee Sports Network app. pic.twitter.com/qStsH2Fv6S
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 27, 2025
