How Are The Chicago Cubs In First Place?

As April draws to a close, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in an unexpected position: first place in the NL Central.

With the Cubs' 3-1 road victory over the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers' 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, Chicago passed the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. The Cubs only lead by half a game, but it's the first time all season that they've been atop the standings.

Given the plague of injuries that's decimated Chicago's roster recently, even the team's most optimistic fans probably didn't think that was possible. With Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki on the injured list, the lineup is missing its two best hitters. Three-fifths of the starting rotation (Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Wicks) is on the IL, as are two key relievers (Drew Smyly and Julian Merryweather).

To make matters worse, the back of the bullpen has been a mess. Adbert Alzolay lost the closing job after blowing four saves, and his replacement, Hector Neris, has more walks (11) than strikeouts (10).

That's a lot of body blows for a team to absorb in the first month of the season. And yet, the resilient Cubs have kept on chugging.

Their offense, which ranks sixth in MLB in runs per game, has been buoyed by surprising contributions from Michael Busch (team-high six homers) and Mike Tauchman (team-high .939 OPS), both of whom have performed like All-Stars. Top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong has also provided an instant spark since replacing Bellinger in center field.

Meanwhile, Shota Imanaga has been better than anyone could have possibly imagined, going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA to start his MLB career. Javier Assad (2-0, 2.00 ERA) has stepped up as well, while Jameson Taillon (1.50 ERA in three starts) has helped stabilize the rotation since returning from the IL.

The bullpen's been shaky, but Mark Leiter Jr.'s been lights-out with just one earned run in 13 innings. Having one of baseball's best managers in Craig Counsell has helped navigate the choppy waters, and Chicago's been close to unbeatable at home (10-3 at Wrigley Field).

The Cubs may be short on star power at the moment, but they keep finding ways to win games. They've yet to lose more than two games in a row and are 11-5 over their last 16, showing remarkable tenacity while surging to the top of the standings.

It's still early, but Chicago is in a good spot entering May.