Chicago Cubs: Who will play outfield in the postseason?

It’s a well-known story. The Chicago Cubs have depth. But what part of that depth will be playing the outfield in the playoffs?

Part of the Chicago Cubs success over the last three seasons is because they have multiple players who can play a variety of positions. Let’s start in the infield since a lot of experts and fans don’t exactly say much about those positions for this topic.

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First base is Anthony Rizzo, obviously. The only time he isn’t, there is on an off day. Thank goodness he’s durable (knocks on wood).

But across the diamond is different. We’ve seen Javier Baez, Ian Happ, Ben Zobrist and Tommy La Stella at second base at one point or another this season.

Shortstop isn’t as crowded as its always been Addison Russell or Baez more often than not. Zobrist has played there but only when Baez came out of a game due to injury and minor league player Mike Freeman has started there for Joe Maddon too. Freeman won’t make the playoff roster.

And at the hot corner, we’ve mainly seen Kris Bryant, but there have been times we’ve seen La Stella and Baez there when Maddon either gives Bryant an off day or inserts him into the crowded outfield.

It all revolves around Baez

Let’s assume Baez will start at second base. That takes away the possibility of Zobrist and Happ getting the start at second. It’s safe to assume La Stella will be a pinch-hitter barring an injury.

Coming into the season, it was expected that Almora and Jay would share time in center field. But Happ has emerged as a solid bat in the middle of the lineup and played well enough defensively to not become a liability.

Almora has proven to hit very well against lefties (36-for-107 .336 batting average). As of late, he’s been outstanding against right-handed batters, but overall, he’s struggled against righties for the season (48-for-178, .270 batting average). His defense is what puts him above Jay or Happ.

Better than expected

Jay has been better than anticipated for the entire season. He’s been a great pinch-hitter while also coming up with a lot of big hits for the Cubs. He’s arguably one of the Cubs most valuable players in the first half of the season as mainly the Cubs lead-off hitter. He slashed .300/.385/.400 in the first half of the season. In the second half, he’s slashed .278/.366/.344. There’s not much of a difference there. He’s earned the right to start.

Happ-y to help

Happ, who was once supposed to only be on the major league roster for a few games, earned his playing time with his impressive power surge. The rookie has 22 home runs and was a big lift at times for the Cubs in the first half of the season when the offense was towards the bottom in a lot of categories. When you think about Bryant-Rizzo-Schwarber-Happ in the middle of the lineup, it’s scary. I didn’t even mention Willson Contreras.

Maddon will make the call based on matchups like he has all season, but I believe he will give Happ majority of the starts in center field, use Almora as a late defensive replacement and use Jay as a key pinch-hitter off the bench. He could also slide Jay or Happ in left field.

If there is a lefty starter, I believe Maddon will bench Schwarber. And I’m all for it. In 80 at-bats, Schwarber is only hitting .175 against left-handed pitching. Slide in Zobrist or Happ, both switch hitters.

However, if a right-handed batter is on the mound, Maddon needs to play Schwarber. He’s proven time and time again he’s the Cubs version of Mr. October. People forget he sat all of last season, except three games, then came back to play in the World Series and played a big role in that series. He could of played a bigger role if the DH was in the National League, but that’s for another post down the line.

Next: Should Lackey be on the playoff roster?

So, Schwarber-Happ-Heyward is my postseason starting outfield. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. But first, the Cubs have a division to win. The Cubs look to make the postseason for three straight years for the first time since 1908, ironically. They will need a lot of luck this weekend, but they could be spraying champagne in the opposing dugout of Busch Stadium next week. It’s nice when your team controls their own destiny.