Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - 5 On It: Which Cubs player are you most sure about heading into the 2026 season?

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed a variety of sports topics in the 5 On It segment.

It's time for five on it. Rahini Harrison Rooney. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104-3 to score. I got five on it. Number one. We're going to call this one five on it plus today because you listening out there. You deserve some bonus questions.

We've got a couple of two-parters for you, including this one. Which Cubs player are you most sure about heading into the 20-26 season? And part two, which Cubs player are you least sure about heading into the 20-26 season? The Cubs player that I am most sure about heading into this season happens to be the Cubs starting first basement. His name is Michael Bush. I am very excited about him based on, obviously, what he did last year with the slug and the 31 home runs and how he just seemed to get better and better and better as the season went on. Now, with air quotes limited at bats because there were many times where he was not hitting against lefties,

The plan this year is to bat him against more lefties, to let him be your everyday guy, just with his approach, with his demeanor, with that swing, the discerning eye at the plate. I am very excited to see what Michael Bush can do for the Cubs this year in a full boat of at bats. And his play at first base has been excellent as well. So he is my guy, Michael Bush. and the player that I'm most concerned about this year for the Cubs, maybe confused as a better word, but it is Pete Crow Armstrong,

because I just don't know who he is. I don't know that there's any way that he's going to be an ineffective or bad baseball player unless he picks up where he kind of left off. But what is he? Is he a home run hitter? Is he a guy that there was some fluke going on in the first half of the season? Who is Pete Crow Armstrong? So I am just based on what we saw, a heavy downfall for PCA last year.

He is the guy about whom I am most concerned right now until I see it, until I see the PCAness that we saw in the first half last year when he was gangbusters. I definitely understand your answer, especially Michael Bush, because he has actually seen some lefties this spring. He's three for eight. That's a 375 clip against lefties. Curiously, though, he's only batting like 208. He's just above the Mendoza line spring training overall, and he's yet to leave the yard.

And everybody hits in Arizona, man. They say it's hot. The ball flies. Just make contact. You'll be okay. We can selectively decide when we want to just call it spring training. And that's what I'm going to do right now. It's spring training.

It doesn't matter. They're working on stuff. It's funny how we all do that. You're not the first to do that. You certainly will not be the last to do it. And maybe I'll fall victim to that myself. Although my answer for the guy that I know I'm sure about, it's Nico Horner. He plays solid in the field.

he is a hitter. He hits, and he's been a great hitter, and he had his best season last year. There's no reason to think he won't have a similar approach at the plate this year, and that puts the ball in play and avoid strikeouts, and he's got speed. Not a lot of pop, but who cares because he's consistent as a hitter. It's Nico Horner. He's the guy that I know when I put him in the lineup,

I know exactly what to expect out of Nico Horner. Not too much, not too less. It's as steady as they come. That's right. Like the porridge. He was made, the porridge. Look, Craig Counsel, I think, was the one that said he is the most made for Major League

Baseball on the schedule and the grind of anybody because he's the same dude every day. And you can't say that about everybody on the Cubs. You know who you really can't say that about? Shoda. That's why he's the other end of the coin. You probably saw that coming, though, didn't you? I didn't necessarily, but yeah, that makes sense. Shoda, he's looked okay in the spring, low whip, which means he's not putting a lot of

people on base, but still getting up three and a half home runs for nine innings. That is not good. And so I don't know what we're getting out of show to Imanaga. I am thankful that he's not being as depended on. He's going to be back half of the rotation, I would imagine. And look, if he pitches well, it can really change what this team can be this season. If he doesn't, he might end up being a guy at the back end of the rotation who's in and out of the rotation once Justin Steele comes back.

But Chode Aminaga, for me, he's that guy. And I'm curious to see how it plays out. I mean, we could talk about hypotheticals. We could talk about what happened last year, last postseason. Bottom line is, it is a new season. I'm giving him the benefit of a doubt that he can find his way to being back to the guy that was dominant for the first year and a half he had as a cub. Javier Assad and Ben Brown standby for potential starts if it doesn't go well.

Don't forget about my guy. Colin Ray. Colin Ray. He could swing in there. Jordan, no, Wix is hurt, right? Yeah, I don't think Wix is, I don't know what happened to that guy. Number two. The Athletics, Eno Seris, recently published an article with his bold predictions for the

2026 MLB season. One of those predictions, Saris has Brewer's right-hander, Jacob Mizorowski, winning the National League Cy Young Award in his sophomore season. Saris joined Matt Spiegel for the season premiere of hit and run on Sunday and discussed the thinking behind his prediction for a career year for the Miz. It's mostly because he found a pitch he can command that 92 to 94 mile on our slider that he throws is pretty nasty. It's hard to hit and he can command it. He said that, you know, when he's commanding that, when he's throwing that, it helps him command his other pitches too.

So I think the big thing you've always seen with Mizairowski is the command, not the stuff. We know he has the stuff. It's high 90s, you know, triple digit heaters and, you know, mid-nighty sliders, and now he's got a new change-up grip. And I just, you know, he's the kind of guy that if he could pitch 180 innings and he had okay command, he should be in the conversation for the size. So it's a stuff thing. I just love his stuff.

That's the athletic Enos Seris with Matt Spiegel on hit and run. If Saris is correct in his prediction that this will be a Cy Young season for Jacob Mizorowski, are the Cubs in trouble? Yes, they're in a lot of trouble. If he's a Cy Young guy and you see them 13 times a year And let's say he pitches three of those times Maybe even four It's bad news for the Cubs

Now I like the fact that he was erratic as a rookie But he's not a rookie anymore I do flash back to the last time we saw him on the hill against the Cubs And that was undeniable that he was a difference maker in a playoff series And I just got to tell you him being named opening day starter. I'm really hoping the White Sox rough him up because if they don't, it's going to be like an omen to me.

Well, one, the White Sox might not have as good a season as I was hoping. But also, the Cubs have a problem. If he's the best pitcher between these two teams, the Cubs have a problem. I hate that he put that out there. And he was great. I listened to that entire interview with Matt Spiegel on hit and run. You know, Saras is terrific.

And I don't think anybody knows more baseball than that guy, especially when it comes to stuff and stuff plus and all of that stuff. But here I am celebrating Freddie Peralta is gone. Does that mean that it's not going to mean anything because they've got this. The Les Mis is so great. It's just like Brewers. Hello, Brewers. Caleb Durbin is gone.

What does that mean? Jackson Truos is going to be the MVP this year? Like what? So, yeah, I mean, to answer the question, of course, yeah. If he is that guy, if Mizorowski is that guy, of course the Cubs are in trouble. And it's just more reason to look at the brewers and say, even though it's like the ongoing joke around here,

a lot of times out of my mouth, that this is going to be the year that the brewers are going to fall off. As soon as somebody falls off, somebody rises, so we can only hope that that doesn't happen. But yes, the Cubs would be in trouble. Number three. It's five on it on 104. The score with Marshall Harris and Mark Grody.

We're taking question number one, and we're putting it down, and we're flipping it and reversing it for question number three. Which White Sox player are you most sure about heading into the 2026 season? And which White Sox player are you least sure about heading into the 2026 season? I am going to go with, I think, the shortstop, Colson Montgomery is the guy about whom I am most sure. And I guess, like, even though it took, it was a little wobbly early, but man, did that dude go on a tear, a tear? in the second half of the season

to make a believer out of me. So I think, and this is relative to a roster, which you look at and doesn't really pop off the page, but I am going to go with Montgomery is the guy about whom I am most sure. And stay with me on this one, because this is going to, some people are like, huh, really?

This guy? I am not sure about what Munataka Morikami will be at the big league level. I mean, you just never know. I think he's going to be good. I'm excited about him, probably the guy that I'm most excited about on the White Sox. Let's see if the socks have something in this guy, did the socks have a 35 to 40 home run guy back? But we don't know.

I mean, the bugaboo in Japan even is the swing and miss. And is there going to be an adjustment? Could it not work out for him? So I will just say, I am not sure about Munet at the big league level. I think that's fair because you haven't seen him take on major league pitching in the regular season yet. And I have some questions as well. But as far as the guy that I am sure about, it's Kyle Teal. Now, I know he's hurt.

I know it's going to be a minute before we see him. That seems pretty unsure to me. No, but he's going to come back. It's just a hamstring strain. True. Yeah. They'll take their time and get him right. And then once he comes back, I expect him to be every bit as good as he was last season.

when he put up a 273 average, a 375 on base. I love that number. Yeah, real nice. And he slugged 411. That's a 786 OPS. And when you look at his statistics from last year, they don't necessarily jump off the page, but he was so consistent. And he was a guy who gave you presence in a lineup where you needed just young, hopeful guys

that you could kind of hit your wagon to. I like it. to steal an expression from a future question. Listen, I think Kyle Till's going to be that dude. Who have a lot of questions about, though? Shane Smith. He's the opening day starter. And if you remember back to last year,

Shane Smith had several outings where he just gave them what they need most from their starting pitching innings. He just gave them 146 and a third innings over, what, 29 starts? Now, they went 9 and 20 in those games. his ERA was a bit questionable at 3.81, not the stuff that stars I've made out of. But if he could take another step forward and pitch 30 plus games and maybe get to 180 innings,

now you got somebody who can help you win ball games on a nightly basis. I just think I don't know if he could do it. So that's the guy I'm really, somebody's got to lead this pitching staff. And they've told me it's going to be Shane Smith because he's out there on opening day. Well, it's funny because I was thinking about saying and I thought it would be outside the spirit of the question, the actual spirit.

I was going to say the thing that I'm most sure about with the White Sox is that Noah Schulteagan-Smith or Tanner McDougal will be called up at some point in time to begin to replace some of the starting five that they have right now in place. I think that is a safe call. Number four. By the way, as a quick programming note for tomorrow's show, Ben Verlander, the great host of the Flipping Bats podcast and Justin Verlander's brother, yesterday tweeted, I'm going to going to say something crazy. I'm excited to watch

the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. So he's going to join us at 1 o'clock tomorrow to talk about that. Stay tuned. Layla will be back tomorrow with Mars Hall. Here's question number four. Oh, no, with me. No, with you. Sorry. I'm as confused by my schedule as everybody else. Okay. Here is the next question. We've reached the Sweet 16 portion of the NCAA tournament.

Who are you hitching your wagon to and riding all the way to the championship. So this is a great question because there's a lot of valid entries for said question. You got one seed still alive in Michigan and also Arizona, Duke, three of the one seed still alive. But I'm a ride with the team that scores points. I think the align I are going to pull off an upset in Houston, take down Houston, and just keep it motoring.

Once they win that game, they're good to go. I like the Alinae. I think this is the year that Brad Underwood finally breaks through. They have such depth that we talked about earlier in the show and so many different people. And I think Keaton Wogler's best NCAA tournament game is still ahead of him before he goes to the NBA draft. Give me the Aligni and Brad Underwood. They got to the regional final two years ago, got dominated by Yukon. I don't see a team out here that is built like that.

Yukon team. And I really like the Aligni's chances of breaking through this season getting to the final four in Indianapolis and winning it all. We got dual wagons hitched. We got dual wagons. This show right here in this room, in this country, we are all about the Aligni baby. They have been convincing going over a hundo against Penn making them

look bad. Okay, Fran. And then Illinois, no funny stuff from VCU. This ain't North Carolina you're playing. You're not coming back from double digits on the Alina in this one. I am predicting that Illinois will beat Houston when they play them on Thursday and it will be back to see you never know who's going to be the guy.

Last week, or yesterday or Saturday? Saturday. Saturday? Saturday. Stoyakovich. Stoyakovich with the 21. David Murkovic is going to have another massive double-double because they've got to get physical against Houston. So they're my team. with honorable mention to the Iowa Hawkeyes,

because you know it listening right now. You either know somebody that goes to Iowa, your child goes to Iowa, your best friend goes to Iowa. Everybody is connected to the Iowa Hawkeyes in some way, shape, or form. Many degrees of Hawkeyes in the area. Number five. Team USA quarterback Darrell Doucette previously said

that he's a better flag football quarterback than Patrick Mahomes because of his IQ. after Team USA defeated the Wildcats Flag Football Club and the Fanatics Flag Football Classic Doucet reflected on those comments. I made some remarks back in 2023. It was totally misconstrued and misunderstood. All I was speaking of was giving my brothers a fair chance

to make 2028. We came out this weekend with that on our mind to say, hey, let's show these guys that we are talented, that we are flag football and not to be overlooked by anyone in the world and that's my remarks. I'm sorry, right? So that's Team USA quarterback, Darrell Doucette.

Here's the question. Should the NFL let the actual pro flag football players play in the Olympics and stop trying to make their sports, trying to take their spots after they embarrassed the NFL players in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in L.A. on Saturday. They did embarrass them.

them, they shouldn't do it. The video that you sent me, Marshall, all of us is hilarious because of the actual skill set that is involved in flag football that I didn't even really think about. But I'm going to say no more. I'm seating the rest of my time to the senator from the South Loop, Marshall Harris, because the South's got something to say about this one. I can't say it any better than Daryl Doucette himself said it

because you heard how emotional he was talking about. He's got the big trophy, just to paint of picture for you in front of him at the press conference after they won two games in the preliminary. There are three total teams. And then they won the championship game. This man led his offense. They scored every single possession of the tournament except the last one because they ran out the clock.

Wow. It's arena football we're playing now. I mean, but you saw, and what Grotie's alluding to is there's a video that I sent where when it's flag football, this isn't about tackling. You had current and former NFL players trying to grab the flags. These guys are professionals at avoiding having their flag taken from them. Like doing the Mamba. I mean, going low on the, you know what the elusivity.

It's like what Caleb Williams is to quarterbacks, these guys are to flag football with the elusivity. And if you're wondering, okay, well, who was he going up against? Tom Brady was one of the quarterbacks. I know he's a former NFL quarterback. But also, Jaden Daniels was out there. Sekewan Barclay was out there. Joe Burrow was out there.

Other guys were out there, but they just didn't have the offensive efficiency that a professional flag football player has. Leave this to the pros. I know the NFL wants to gobble, gobble, gobble this up, but nah, just let these guys make a name for themselves. They've been doing it for longer. They're better. Get the gold. That's it for five on it. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harris and Grotie.

I've been looking forward to this. We are going to share our favorite moments from the NCAA tournament, and it will be accentuated with just some terrific audio. Some of it is funny. Some of it is just grand like you would expect from the tournament. But we will talk NCAA tournament next on the score.