The 2026 season has been headlined by young players emerging, but some wily veterans have also had their day. As we head toward the end of the regular season, these 30 players stand out as the biggest surprises on their teams.
The Chicago Bulls will begin life without Alex Bregman. The star third baseman continues to deal with the aftermath of a facial fracture, leaving the Bulls with some big shoes to fill in their final two series of the regular season.
Alex Bregman might not be the only improbable weekend return for the Cubs, as Craig Counsell said Tuesday that Justin Steele could be an option for the Boston series.
The Chicago Cubs find themselves in a Wild Card race that they didn’t envision being in a few weeks back. The way things were going, the Cubs appeared destined to host a Wild Card series in the National League for the playoffs.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell informed reporters, including Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times, that third baseman Alex Bregman will not be placed on the injured list.
The Chicago Cubs enter the final stretch of the regular season with their eyes on October and a lineup that now puts one of baseball’s most dynamic players at the top of the order.
The Chicago Cubs, barring some wildly unforeseeable set of circumstances over the last six games of the regular season, will make the playoffs. It’s still to be determined, however, where they’ll land in the NL Wild Card seeding.
The Chicago Cubs are getting some major accolades for an offseason deal that many said was proving to be a major bust. As a matter of fact, that very same deal is now being hailed as “Transaction of the Year” by a respected industry insider.
Six more games stand between the Chicago Cubs and a second consecutive playoff berth. Their first series will be against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field before they head out East for a regular-season series finale in Boston.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was already a top prospect. Without any doubts, many scouts graded his defense as “plus-plus.” It was clear that part of his game was going to make a generational impact.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is not just having a great season. He is having one of the most complete, dominant, and historic seasons baseball has seen in the modern era.
Alex Bregman certainly paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sunday. The Chicago Cubs third baseman Bregman suffered multiple facial fractures after being struck by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Monday.
With the regular season winding down, the Chicago Cubs are looking to secure the top National League Wild Card spot. They held that position for much of the second half, but now find themselves in a deadlock with the Phillies.