Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers poised for years of showdowns

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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 19: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers grounds into a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs during game five of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 19, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs have talent and questions in the outfield

Jason Heyward brings a lot to the table. He could very well win a fourth-straight Gold Glove Award in the next month and his Game 7 weight room speech will live on in Cubs’ lore forever. But his bat comes with plenty of questions to – despite his improvements in 2017.

If he can get back to the offensive the offensive threat he once was, this assessment looks very different. But I’m not banking on it – I have no reason to logically. He put up some worrisome numbers this year and I’m taking a wait-and-see approach heading into the winter.

We’re not really sure who is the Cubs’ center fielder of the future. I’d like it to be Albert Almora Jr. He showed a lot of improvement in 2017 and veteran Jon Jay took him under his wing as a mentor, which is very promising – especially considering his .298 average.

In left, you assume Kyle Schwarber has the job again in 2018. But he is a sub-par defensive outfielder and struggled with the bat – despite hitting 30 home runs. He epitomizes the all-or-nothing approach that has taken over baseball in recent years.

Athleticism rules Dodgers’ outfield

On the other side of things, Chris Taylor is cemented into center field for Los Angeles. He lit the Cubs up in this year’s NLCS and put up an .850 OPS during the regular season. Taylor also swiped 17 bases, as well.

Yasiel Puig, love him or hate him, is an extremely talented piece. He’s one of the three finalists (including Heyward) for the right field Gold Glove this year. The powerful outfielder set career-highs in both homers and runs batted in this year and has one of the best arms in baseball.

And, of course, Joc Pederson rounds things out – along with utilityman Kike Hernandez. Pederson, we’ll consider the starter for argument’s sake. He struggled through the worst year of his career, but his athleticism – combined with the all-around talent of Taylor and Puig make the Dodgers a clear-cut front-runner in the outfield. The Cubs have the potential to take it back – but they need to prove it first.

Advantage: Los Angeles

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