Chicago Cubs Series Preview: Youth, inexperience big hurdles for Miami Marlins

The Chicago Cubs open the 2018 regular season with a series against a Miami Marlins team rife with inexperience and a lack of star power in the lineup.

Expectations couldn’t be further apart for the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins heading into 2018. The former expects to bring home a second World Series championship in the last three years, while the latter hopes to avoid losing 100 games.

An offseason ownership change and subsequent fire sale dominated headlines in South Beach. Miami traded Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich – loading up on prospects in the deals. Add in late spring injuries and the Marlins have more questions than answers as Opening Day nears.

Chicago, meanwhile, played well pretty much from start-to-finish in Cactus League action. Reliable veteran southpaw Jon Lester will take the ball on Opening Day with one of the most talented, albeit young, lineups in the game behind him.

So, how do these clubs measure up? It sure seems obvious given what we just touched on, but here’s what you need to know ahead of this season-opening showdown.