Chicago Cubs: Watching a young team grow

This is a great time to be a Chicago Cubs fan. What you have before you, is a young and exciting team that is growing and developing before your very eyes. Each game you can see these young players getting better and starting to put all the pieces together to be that great team that everyone has been expecting.

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There have been plenty of surprises along the way as well. With all the scouting reports and highlights that have shown Kris Bryant‘s unreal power at the plate, not one of those highlights or reports ever mentioned how good of a base runner he is or how fast he can run down the line.

MLB has a new program called ‘Statcast’, which measures the speeds of everything in baseball and the trajectory of balls hit and how fielders play the hits. They used this on Bryant’s infield single that he ran out against the Mets this week. On that ground ball, Statcast clocked Bryant’s top speed at 19.93 MPH – getting to that top speed in just under four seconds after making contact.

Rookie second baseman, Addison Russell, has picked up playing second base very quickly and has shown how athletic he truly is. While his glove was never in question, he’s also proving that his bat shouldn’t have been questioned either. He may have started out a little slow at the plate, but eventually he got very comfortable and ended up with a 12 game hitting streak.  

Anthony Rizzo, who was already an all-star, has picked up his game even more. He’s not only the most dangerous player on the Cubs team, but he’s proving to be one of the best hitters in baseball. There is no question that if he continues his pace that he’ll be in the National League MVP conversation the rest of the year, maybe career.

Jorge Soler has hit a rough patch with his bat, but that likely change once the warmer weather hits Chicago. When the weather gets hot, you’re probably going to see a hot bat with Soler.

Like all young teams, there will be growing pains and adjustments. Sometimes this team will play like they are the most unstoppable team in baseball, and the next series they may come out flat and struggle to put up any runs on the scoreboard.

They’ll make you cheer and they’ll get you excited, but they’ll also make you want to pull your hair out at times too. All of that should be expected – it is all a part of the fun of having a young team with so much promise and potential.

Next: Cubs win their fifth straight in a 12th inning walk-off