Cubs 2020 1st round draft pick Ed Howard IV (Mt. Carmel HS - Chicago, IL) drilled a pinch-hit RBI double in his pro game debut and Jacob Wetzel (2020 NDFA - Frederick CC) laced an RBI triple and scored on a Fabian Pertuz RBI single in his pro game debut, as the Cubs rallied to tie the Giants 5-5 in AZ Instructional League Opening Day game action Wednesday afternoon at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ. 

Rob Emery belted a three-run HR and Marco Luciano followed with a monster solo shot (both off Cubs SP Cory Abbott) to give the Giants an early 4-0 lead, before the Cubs came roaring back in the late innings.  

Besides Howard and Wetzel, three other Cubs made their pro game debut on Wednesday. LF Jordan Nwogu (2020 3rd round pick - U. of Michigan) reached base on an HBP in his first pro AB and later scored from 1st base on the Wetzel triple, 1B Matt Mervis (2020 NDFA - Duke) drew a walk in his first pro AB and later scored on the Howard RBI double, and RHRP Ben Leeper (2020 NDFA - Oklahoma State) threw one inning in relief. 

An unsigned player under club control who has accrued at least three but less than six years of MLB Service Time is automatically eligible for salary arbitration.

Also, any unsigned player with at least two years but less than three years of MLB Service Time who accrued at least 86 days of MLB Service Time during the previous season can qualify for salary arbitration as a so-called "Super Two" if the player is among the top 22% in MLB Service Time of players in that group (rounded to the nearest whole number). And if  two or more players are tied with the same MLB Service Time just above the "Super Two" threshold, all of the players with that accrued MLB ST would get "Super Two" status even if that means the number of players with "Super Two" status exceeds 22%.   

The Cubs dropped the first game, scoring their lone run on an Ian Happ homer and letting six shutout innings from Hendricks turn into a 5-1 loss when things fell apart in the 7th. Now, they face elimination in this best of 3 Wild Card Round. They'll send their best starting pitcher and NL Cy Young contender Yu Darvish to keep the Cubs' season alive.

The bizarre 2020 regular season has come to an end with the Cubs in first place in the central and four (!) NL Central teams making the sweet-sixteen style postseason. As the three-seed, the Cubs get to take on Marlins. A 3-game series unfolding without a day off will decide which team advances to the next round. Get ready for yet more strangeness from baseball in 2020!

UPDATED 9/29:

The Cubs have selected the contract of C Josh Phegley, and to make room for him on the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) LHRP Josh Osich has been Designated for Assignment (DFA). 

Also,  Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured and 1B-3B Patrick Wisdom (Designated for Assignment on 9/27) has been sent outright to the AAA Iowa Reserve List and he has been assigned the Cubs MLB Post-Season Taxi Squad.  

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9/27 UPDATE: 

The Cubs have selected the contract of LHP Brailyn Marquez, and to make room for Marquez on the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and the MLB 28-man Active List roster, 1B-3B Patrick Wisdom has been Designated for Assignment.  

So the Cubs MLB Club Player Pool now stands at 58 (two slots are open).

The Cubs close out the 2020 regular season sleeping in their own beds but hosted by their South Side rivals, the White Sox. The Cubs enter the series 2.5 games up. The Cardinals have 6 games remaining to the Cubs' 3. The Cubs' magic number stands at 3 games as of my writing this. See below for the daily match-ups.