The Chicago Cubs are poised to have a huge season as they are one of the favorites to win not only the National League pennant, but the World Series as well. They have one of the best managers in the game in Joe Maddon, a solid pitching staff led by Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester and a very good bullpen with quality arms like Hector Rondon, Justin Grimm and Pedro Strop.
The Cubs, however, will go as far as their offense can carry them. They had a fair share of quality bats in 2015 (led by Anthony Rizzo and the rookie trio of Addison Russell, reigning ROY Kris Bryant and mid-season call-up Kyle Schwarber) and they added even more reinforcements in Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, not to mention the return of Dexter Fowler.
The amount of offensive players will give plenty of options to Joe Maddon as the former Tampa Bay Rays skipper loves to mix the lineups based on the matchups. The presence of two switch-hitters like Fowler and Zobrist gives Maddon even more possibilities as to how assemble a potent lineup.
One of the biggest questions heading into Spring Training was related to who was going to beat in the leadoff spot. Zobrist and Heyward were possibilities based on their OBP numbers (career .355 and .353 respectively) but the return of Fowler might give him his old spot back. Zobrist is better suited to hit in the #2 hole thanks to his high contact rate (he hasn’t topped the 100-K mark in each of the last five seasons) while Heyward is likely to bat in the middle of the order even though he’s not known for being a power hitter.
Speaking of power hitters, the Cubs have plenty of them. Anthony Rizzo (31 HR, 101 RBI, .899 OPS in 2015) and Kris Bryant (26 HR, 99 RBI, .858 OPS) are expected to remain in the heart of the batting order while both Kyle Schwarber (21 HR in 304 PA) and Jorge Soler (1.705 OPS during the postseason) can both hit either fifth or sixth depending on who starts.
Catcher might be the weaker position in terms of offensive power but Miguel Montero (15 HR, 53 RBI, .754 OPS) doesn’t hurt the team with the bat as some other starting catchers do. It’s unclear whether the pitcher will bat eighth or ninth but the remaining spot when it comes to position players will be for SS Addison Russell. He might not look good on paper but he was one of the players who improved the most in the second half of the last season. He increased in OPS in .96 points while decreasing his strikeout rate by more than 5% after the All-Star Game.
Assembling everything on paper, this could be a possible lineup for the Cubs on Opening Day. It includes a DH since Chicago will start their season on the road against Los Angeles Angels.
CF Dexter Fowler
2B Ben Zobrist
1B Anthony Rizzo
3B Kris Bryant
RF Jason Heyward
DH Kyle Schwarber
LF Jorge Soler
C Miguel Montero
SS Addison Russell
It’s an authentic Murderers’ Row and it should give the opposing pitchers nightmares on a constant basis. The bench will feature players like Javy Baez (an utility defender with plus-plus power but prone to strikeouts) and Tommy LaStella (LH bat who averaged .460 last season as a pinch-hitter) so Maddon will have plenty of options late in games, although with these names in the regular batting order there might not be much of a need for pinch-hitting.
The Cubs are certainly well equipped for the 2016 season. They will strikeout a lot but they also have the potential to become the league’s highest scoring offense with relative ease. They are embracing the fact that they are the favorites to win the World Series and while that might be true, they will only go as far as their offense can take them.
Last year it was the NLCS. This year, the expectations should be a World Series berth considering the improvements the club has made on both sides of the ball.