27-year old righty starting pitcher Randy Wells is off to a great start this season. He has started 4 games for the Cubs so far this season and he is 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has only walked 5 batters while whiffing 19 in 25 1/3 innings so far this season as he is showing excellent control so far. Wells came out of nowhere last season for the Cubs when he started 27 games in which he was 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Cubs weren’t sure what to expect out of Wells this season but he has been excellent and it looks like he might even be better than he was last year.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Thomas Diamond was once one of the brightest prospects in all of baseball before he started injuring himself. But he looks healthy right now in AAA for the Cubbies. Diamond has started 4 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only given up 12 hits in 21 innings so far this season while whiffing 19 batters as his stuff appears to be getting back to where it used to be. If Diamond keeps pitching well and the Cubs have a need in the starting rotation he might finally get his big chance in the major leagues.

Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin have all got off to fast starts this season with the bats for the Cubs. Byrd was signed as a free agent over the winter to man CF for the Cubs and he is off to a outstanding start. He has played in 18 games for the Cubs so far and he is 24 of 71 (.338 avg, .923 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. Byrd’s hustle and solid bat has rubbed off on his teammates lining up on both sides of him in the outfielder. Alfonso Soriano looks like he’s getting back into a groove for the Cubs. He has played in 18 games for the Cubs so far this season and he is 18 for 60 (.300 avg, .872 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Right field has been a time share between Fukudome and Colvin. Fukudome has played in 19 games this season for the Cubs and he is 17 of 51 (.333 avg, .988 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. He is responding well to playing almost exclusively against righty starting pitchers. Tyler Colvin has played in 17 games for the Cubs this season and he is 11 of 33 (.333 avg, 1.102 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Colvin had a outstanding spring training which pretty much forced manager Lou Piniella to find playing time for him. The Cubs hope that the outfield keeps up the good work with the bats.

With Ted Lilly ready to come off the D.L. the Cubs are going to shift Carlos Zambrano from the rotation to the bullpen to serve as the Cubs’ new set-up man. The Cubs’ bullpen is in shambles right now outside of closer Carlos Marmol and lefty Sean Marshall so this move definitely makes sense. Zambrano, by agreeing to move to the pen, is proving to be more of a team player than most people thought he was. He has started 4 games this season and he is 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. Zambrano has 26 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings this season so his stuff is still there and he might benefit from the move which is supposedly going to be temporary.

The Cubs look like they are running in circles so far this season. They are 5-7 on the season which has them tied for 3rd in the N.L. Central with the Brewers, 3 games behind the Cardinals. The Cubs have been outscored 58-52 so far this season so they need to both hit and pitch a little better if they want to start getting on a roll. Maybe that will happen this week as the Cubs travel to New York for 4 games with the Mets and then off to Milwaukee for 3 games.

No one expected much out of 31-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Silva this season but he is off to a outstanding start. In his first two starts this season, Silva is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. He has only given up 8 hits in 13 innings this season and he has yet to walk any batters. Silva is pitching right now like he used to before he left Minnesota for Seattle and if he keeps it up he will help the Cubs in 2010.

The Cubs have placed reliever Esmailin Caridad on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain. Caridad pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this season and he is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. The Cubs have recalled righty reliever Jeff Gray from the minors to replace Caridad in the pen. He made his Cubs’ debut yesterday and he was the winning pitcher despite giving up 3 hits, walking a batter and giving up 2 earned runs. Look for Gray to be a big part of the Cubs’ pen going forward.

28-year old righty reliever Jeff Gray got off to a slow start in spring training due to injury. That is the main reason he didn’t make the opening day roster. He looks healthy in AAA so far. He has pitched in 3 games in which he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. He has only allowed 1 hit in 4 innings so far in AAA. With the way the Cubs’ bullpen is imploding this season so far I fully expect them to call up Gray before the calendar turns over to May.

Carlos Zambrano has just not looked like himself so far this season. In his first two starts of the 2010 season, he is 1-1 with a 11.88 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. His struggles even appear to have hurt his hitting as he is 0 for 3 (.000 avg) with 2 whiffs so far. The Cubs need Zambrano to step up starting this week as he is the only starting pitcher not doing his part to help the Cubs. The rest of the rotation for the Cubs is 1-0 with a 0.74 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.

The Cubs have started the 2010 season with a 2-4 record which has them in fifth place in the N.L. Central. The Cubs have been outscored 30-18 as they have not pitched nor hit well. The Cubs will be playing six games at home this week against the Brewers and Astros so maybe some home cooking can get them back on track.