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

Schwarber looks to rebound

Kyle Schwarber was a postseason hero in his rookie year. His second season lasted only three games into the season before he suffered a major knee injury. But then he miraculously came back to once again be a postseason hero. Last year was supposed to be his first full season in the majors. But Schwarber struggled at the plate and was eventually demoted to triple-A. When he returned, he hit much better.

However, the development of Happ, Almora and Baez has caused the Cubs to have more young starters than they have starting spots. As a left-handed batter its very easy to find a reason to sit Schwarber against left-handed pitchers. But that wasn’t initially the plan.

 Sit. Who, me? No.

Anthony Rizzo doesn’t sit against left-handed pitchers. If Schwarber can put together an entire quality season in the majors that will be a first for Schwaber. If he hits so well that Maddon doesn’t want to take him out of the starting lineup against left-handed pitchers, that will be something different.

Last year Albert Almora proved that he could be more than just a defensive replacement and a pinch runner. He killed left-handed pitching. But to become an everyday player, he will have to do the same with right-handed pitching.

If Almora doesn’t learn to hit right-handed pitching, he will become a platoon player. In a small sample size, Almora did begin to hit right-handed pitching better in the second half of last season, and that was something different from him. Can he do that over the course of an entire season?