Darwin Barney Cracks The Opening Day Lineup

Coming into the season many felt that Darwin Barney was a player to watch on the Cubs’25 man roster, specifically, USA Today named Barney among their 100 players to keep an eye on for the 2011 season. In the report, USA Today suggested that Barney would be a pivotal piece off the the bench for the Cubs during the 2011 season. But after an impressive spring training, the 25-year old second baseman will have much greater duties than simply a piece off the bench.

With only a day remaining before the Cubs season opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, manager Mike Quade announced his Opening Day starting lineup. After not being mentioned in the second base platoon at the start of Spring Training, Darwin Barney has earned a starting spot in the 2011 opener.

Here is the lineup…

1. RF Kosuke Fukudome – There really was no other option for Mike Quade to go to for the leadoff spot. Considering the poor Spring from Blake DeWitt that caused him to lose his spot as a starter, Fukudome was the only viable option for the leadoff spot. I don’t really think Starlin Castro projects as a leadoff hitter, as we may see more power from the second year shortstop this season.
2. SS Starlin Castro-Castro is not at that point where he is a number three hitter, but that does not mean he won’t eventually be there. But for now, Castro’s ability to put the ball in play makes him a perfect fit for the two-hole in the Cubs’ lineup. As I alluded to before, I expect to see more power from Castro this season. He could possibly hit up to 20 home runs this season.
3. CF Marlon Byrd- No matter what spot of the lineup he is in, Byrd is a good fit. Although in my eyes he is more of a number two hitter than a three hitter. But assuming Byrd makes enough contact to create opportunities for Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Pena he should be fine in the three spot.
4. 3B Aramis Ramirez– Ramirez is going to have a big offensive season in 2011! Which is why it is good move by Quade staying with Aramis Ramirez as the cleanup hitter. Ramirez proved that he was healthy during the second half of the season last year by hitting 15 home runs and hitting .276/.321/.526. Ramirez is healthy heading into the season opener, which is why we should not see a slump like he was in at the beginning of last season.
5. 1B Carlos Pena-To simply put it, the Cubs got Carlos Pena so he could be Adam Dunn lite. If the Cubs had a bit more money to spend this winter I’m not so sure that Adam Dunn wouldn’t be on the North Side instead of the South Side, but nonetheless the Cubs settled for Pena. The Cubs do not really care about the average that Pena puts up this season as they only hope that he maintains his average of 36 home runs a season to go along with a high on-base and slugging percentage.
6. C Geovany Soto- The higher Soto is in the lineup, the better.  The knock on Soto last season was that he was not the run producer that the Cubs were hoping for. But to his credit, it is hard to drive in runs from the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup, which is why Soto should have plenty more chances batting after Byrd-Ramirez-Pena.
7. LF Alfonso Soriano-After looking strong offensively during Spring Training, many have come to predict that Soriano will hit 30 home runs this season for the Cubs. If he does, then the Cubs offense will be much better than anyone originally thought. But at this point, it is hard for me to say that Soriano will hit over 25 home runs this season.
8. 2B Darwin Barney- Barney becomes the second rookie since Kosuke Fukudome to start in the Opening Day lineup for the Cubs. Although, I would expect Barney to gradually climb up the Cubs’ lineup throughout the season. If Barney continues to have the same offensive success as he was in Spring Training, he may soon be the everyday starter at second.