The Cubs have a unique build that served them well last season and allowed them to overperform most projection systems considerably. The formula goes something like this: fewer starting pitchers with a lot of dominant swing and miss stuff, but excellent defenders who turn the vast majority of the weak contact generated by the Cubs staff into outs. It worked well last season and after Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ all won Gold Gloves last year to celebrate their defense, it seemed reasonable that the Cubs would just run that formula out again this season.
To be clear, an 18-12 start would have you believe they are doing just that.