Chicago Cubs have a lot of hitters who hope to be ‘different’ this year

Russell moving from the past

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Addison Russell finished the 2016 season with 95 RBI. He hit in the fifth spot in the batting order for most of the season. He had clearly earned a spot at the top of that next tier of hitter in the Cubs lineup just below Bryant and Rizzo.

In 2017 Russell missed a lot of time due to injuries and a domestic abuse complaint. His slash line from 2017 is very similar to his 2016 numbers.

 Still young

But Russell is only 24 years old. He should still be improving. If he is healthy the whole season and he improves upon his numbers from last season, that will be something different.

Ian Happ has already shown that he does everything he can to seize opportunities. Last year he hit so well in spring training that he put himself on the short list to get called up to the majors.

When he did get called up, he hit well until the pitchers adjusted to him, by getting him out with high strikes. Then he adjusted to the high strike. This spring Ian Happ did everything he could to win the leadoff spot in the lineup and become an everyday starter. If he can do that for the whole season, that will be different than even his excellent rookie campaign of last year.