Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/17/25): Caissie Riding Bench Again, Assad Starting

The Cubs managed to squeak by with just three runs yesterday afternoon, which is notable because that actually improved their per-game scoring average on the month. They had scored two or fewer in eight of their first 13 August games and are at three or fewer in 10 of 14, good for an average of 2.85 so far. Regardless of what happens in this one, something is going to have to change in a hurry with the Brewers coming to town for five games in four days.

Milwaukee has not lost in August and their 119 runs scored blow the rest of the league away. This isn’t me worrying about the Brewers, it’s me worrying that the Cubs simply can’t score enough runs to beat even mediocre teams right now. If only they had a young slugger in the minors who could come up and provide a little jolt. They did have such a player, but there’s really no tantalizing option at Iowa now that Owen Caissie is in Chicago.

The Cubs’ top prospect went 0-for-4 in his debut north of the border, but Craig Counsell is treating him like he hit a grand slam. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give some regulars a break while also seeing what Caissie’s made of. After all, he might have to replace Kyle Tucker on a more permanent basis after this season. For as much as Counsell was supposed to represent a departure from David Ross philosophically and strategically, this feels a lot like the Alexander Canario situation a couple years ago.

It may not matter as long as the starters keep holding opposing hitters at bay, but Javier Assad is still getting his sea legs after missing several months with recurring oblique issues. He looked pretty rough in his debut against the Blue Jays, allowing four runs on eight hits over four innings. The righty has never been a very efficient worker, though the Cubs are used to shorter outings from starters this season.

What’s really tough about that in this case, however, is that they can’t afford to burn up the bullpen with that five-game set looming. Assad will either have to be much sharper or the bats will need to give him plenty of room for error.

Michael Busch leads off at first, Tucker is in right, Seiya Suzuki is the DH, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center. Carson Kelly does the catching, Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Dansby Swanson is the shortstop. Matt Shaw bats ninth at third and Caissie is rotting on the bench yet again, because why would you play him when everyone else is performing so well?

They’re facing 26-year-old righty Carmen Mlodzinski, a Hilton Head native and former Gamecock who was drafted 31st overall in 2020. This may be more of a piggyback situation, as Andrew Heaney was initially slated to start and is expected to operate out of the bullpen after making 23 starts for Pittsburgh. Once a potential trade chip, Heaney has an 8.19 ERA over his last nine starts.

Mlodzinski began the season as a starter, but has now made 15 consecutive appearances out of the bullpen. He has recorded at least five outs in each of those games and has gone three or more innings in four relief efforts, so this might not be a typical opener situation. Because it’ll be a bullpen game, and more because I’m heading out soon for a little beer-and-kayak trip with some college buddies, I’m just going to keep the analysis to a minimum.

The Cubs will see a sinking 96 mph four-seam and a sinker with more depth than usual, plus an 88 mph slider that likes to stay in the zone. Mlodzinski’s sweeper tends to land middle-middle too, which is good for avoiding walks and bad for avoiding bats. He’s given up 84 hits in 75 innings, with hitters from both sides finding it very easy to touch him up.

This should be a series-winning game, but we’ve seen far too many anemic efforts from the Cubs to hand them anything at this point. First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

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