Chicago Cubs: It’s time for Almora to step up for a full-time role

The Chicago Cubs have one of the youngest rosters in all of professional baseball. Now, they may be young in age but they are quickly becoming seasoned veterans having won a World Series.

It has been a little over a month since the Chicago Cubs finished off the Cleveland Indians on the road. Watching that group of hard working players mob around the mound felt great as the drought was put to rest.

Now, think about something real quick. The Cubs have a handful of players who are under the age of 26-years-old. Well, Kyle Hendricks is the oldest out of the bunch who made their big league debuts just a few years ago.

Still, Addison Russell, Willson Contreras, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Carl Edwards Jr., Kris Bryant, Albert Almora Jr., and Kyle Schwarber are all baseball heroes. At a very young age.

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I used baseball heroes only because of all the men and women who currently serve in our armed forces. Best wishes and a Happy Holiday to those fighting for our country.

Just thought I’d go ahead and toss that out there since we’re inching closer to the end of 2016. One of the best years of our entire lives.

However, it’s time to get ready for another wild ride. And as expected, the Chicago Cubs are at the top of the food chain.

Fowler moving on, opening a door

With free agent Dexter Fowler expected to not reunite with the Chicago Cubs for a second straight year, center field will have a different look. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer went out and signed veteran Jon Jay but it appears that Almora will get the majority of playing time.

As expected, right? It’s just that he’s going to have huge shoes to fill after Fowler had two amazing seasons under his belt. Enter Almora. In his first year of big league action, Almora recorded three home runs, 14 RBI, one triple, nine doubles, and 31 hits while slashing .277/.308/.455/.763.

In addition, he made 18 starts in center, two in left and just as many in right. Let’s not forget his defensive highlight during the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants.

Almora made a diving play out in right field and doubled off Brandon Belt who was running on contact — saving a run. However, the Cubs ended up losing that game.

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When all the marbles were on the line, Almora had the opportunity to participate in Game 7 of the World Series. Being brought in to pinch-run for Kyle Schwarber and scoring on Ben Zobrist‘s RBI double.

A gutsy run that was set up when Almora tagged on Kris Bryant‘s fly out to Rajai Davis. Almora timed it perfectly and took Davis by surprise when he tagged on first and made his way to second.

If that isn’t a sign that he’s ready to step up and take over full-time, I don’t know what is. The future is bright for Albert. That’s for sure.