The Total Package
It is a thing of beauty, isn’t it. The potential for getting runners on base, moving them over, hitting for power, and scoring an obscene amount of runs. And, it is balanced.
L Jon Jay CF
S Ben Zobrist 2B
L Kyle Schwarber LF
R Kris Bryant 3B
L Anthony Rizzo 1B
R Willson Contreras C
L Jason Heyward RF
R Addison Russell SS
Next: Heyward will improve Chicago Cubs lineup in 2017
It is not perfect and will rely on individuals improving from previous years. There is no Javy Baez, and that decision will be the hardest of them all. Does Maddon take out Zobrist or Schwarber in favor or Baez? Or even Addison Russell?
There are no givens. Pitchers will have to make hard decisions on how to manage each at bat. One mistake can snowball into crooked numbers in a heartbeat.