Chicago Cubs: El Mago’s magic indispensable to this franchise

Chicago Cubs: Putting it all together at the dish

In 2018, Javy has consistently put it all together for the entire season and done everything he possibly could to keep the Cubs afloat (other than walk). He leads the team in basically every important offensive category other than OBP, and not just that, he has played at one of the four infield position in 126 of 128 games. He has served as the most important of Joe Maddon’s patented Swiss army knives, ready to deploy wherever the best defender was needed that night.

To date, he has hit 28 home runs, driven in 97 runs, stolen 21 bases (including two crazy thefts of home), and his OPS currently sits at .908, the highest on the team by far and good for eighth in the NL (again, without really walking).

He has played with energy, excitement, ebullience and electrifies the crowd no matter what he’s doing on the field, as evidenced by the fact his fun style of play is popular with the younger fans (he was voted favorite player amongst Little League players during the LLWS- if it’s not magical to capture the wonder of a child, what is?)

He’s on pace for a 6 WAR season as an anchor of the middle of the infield, a middle infield he has had to play double duty for due to the struggles and injuries of Addison Russell.