Chicago Cubs’ Four Biggest Surprises During Strong First Month of the Season

The Chicago Cubs have experienced plenty of surprises during the first month of the season, most of them positive.

May 2, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) hits a solo home run in the second inning as Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) looks on at American Family Field. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs wasted no time announcing their presence as one of the best teams in baseball with a great first month of the season.

After being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tokyo Series in two games to begin the campaign, they went 18-11 the rest of the way to assume the top spot in the National League Central.

It has been an impressive showing thus far, given some of the struggles they have had to overcome, namely on their pitching staff.

Having the No. 1-ranked offense in the sport certainly helps overcome any issues on the mound, with a few incredible performances being provided thus far.

Only time will tell if those performances are sustainable. Here are four of the biggest positives for the Cubs from the first month of the season.

Carson Kelly Improvement

Not much attention was given to Chicago’s signing of the veteran catcher to a two-year, $11.5 million deal this past winter. He was being brought in as a complement to Miguel Amaya and has turned in what is on pace to be a career year.

Kelly tore the cover off the ball in April with a .360/.508/.840 slash line, hitting seven home runs with 21 RBI. In his third appearance of the season with the team, he hit for the cycle.

He is far exceeding even the most ambitious of expectations that were placed on him and has already produced a 1.5 WAR. Conventional wisdom is that he will slow down at some point, but the Cubs certainly love the hot streak he has started the season, with a few adjustments to his stance paying dividends.

Bullpen Woes

In 2024, arguably the biggest issue that Chicago faced was an ineffective bullpen. Through the first month of the season, they are facing the same challenge despite having so many new faces for manager Craig Counsell to work with.

Five out of their top nine used relief pitchers have negative WAR numbers. In total, the Cubs' pitching staff has only a 2.4 combined WAR, with a few standouts but too many players underperforming thus far.

It will be something worth keeping an eye on. The offense has covered up a lot of deficiencies to this point and it wouldn’t hurt to add another experienced late-game option to the mix.

Veteran Starting Pitching Additions

Fans were understandably disappointed with some of the spending limitations that the Chicago ownership put on the front office. Inexplicably, their payroll was slashed this past winter despite the blockbuster acquisition of Kyle Tucker.

One of the areas they looked to have cut some corners with spending was the pitching staff, where their biggest additions were Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea.

Fans can rest a little easier now given how well both of them have performed.

Boyd has a 0.9 WAR across 33.1 innings with a 2.70 ERA and 30 strikeouts. He has been their second most productive starting pitcher behind Shota Imanaga, helping pick up the slack with Justin Steele sidelined for the year.

Rea, who started the season working out of the bullpen, was the one who Counsell called on to step into the rotation for Steele. He has been excellent through 24.2 innings with a 1.46 ERA and 21 strikeouts. His 276 ERA+ is the highest on the team.

Pete Crow-Armstrong Blossoming Star

The Cubs knew they had an everyday center fielder in Crow-Armstrong with his defensive acumen and speed. Those skills were enough to warrant a starting spot, but would he be able to realize his full potential and become an All-Star?

Through April, he is doing just that, figuring things out at the plate, carrying over the success he had down the stretch of 2024.

In the running as the best defensive player in the game already, he is now providing the team with value with his bat. He had a .275/.315/.525 slash line, stuffing the stat sheet with six home runs, 10 doubles, one triple, 21 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

When he performs well, the team wins. He is a key component to their success and taking his game to this next level is helping turn them into contenders.