Chicago Cubs: Playing both sides of the historic rivalry

Apr 2, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (40) is congratulated by right fielder Ben Zobrist (18) and center fielder Jason Heyward (22) after hitting a three run home run off St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Seung-Hwan Oh (not pictured) during the ninth inning of opening night at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Jon Jay

The Cardinals drafted Jon Jay in the second round of the 2006 draft. After making his major league debut on April 26, 2010, Jay spent the next six seasons with St. Louis.

Averaging 126 games a year with the Cardinals, Jay slashed .287/.354/.384 in over 2,600 plate appearances. Jay’s best season with St. Louis came in 2012 when he slashed .305/.373/.400 with four home runs and 40 RBI in 117 games.

After a one-year stint with the San Diego Padres, Jay inked a one-year, eight million deal with the Cubs at the beginning of the 2017 season.

Jay has appeared in 30 games thus far for the Cubs and is slashing .303/.410/.379 with four RBI and three doubles. What has been impressive about Jay so far this season is his ability to get on base. If he maintains his current OBP of .410, Jay will set a new career high. That would be exactly what the Cubs need as they have used Jay primarily at the bottom of the lineup to get on base for Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant. His high OBP also factors in nicely when Jay is called upon to pinch-hit in the late innings.

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