Chicago Cubs: These 10 players must have success this season

There’s no questioning the talent on this Chicago Cubs roster. But if Chicago is to return to the World Series, these 10 guys need to live up to expectations in 2019.

It’s officially March. That means in less than 30 days, the Chicago Cubs will take the field in Arlington on Opening Day, taking on the Texas Rangers to kick off the 2019 regular season campaign.

Now that the Bryce Harper saga has, at long last, drawn to a close, the focus is on the group of guys in the clubhouse at Sloan Park. Assuming the Cubs aren’t in any of the remaining free agent holdouts, we’ve got a pretty good idea as to what the roster will look like heading into the grind of another 162 game slate.

The question on everyone’s minds, though, is whether said roster is good enough to win a third National League Central title in the last four years. Last season, the Cubs saw their division lead dissipate in the final weeks as the Milwaukee Brewers took home the NL Central crown in a winner-take-all Game 163 at Wrigley Field.

We know this core has the talent to get the job done. But it’s more a matter of whether or not Joe Maddon and the revamped coaching staff can get everyone playing up to their potential over the course of a full season. But if these 10 guys deliver, we’ll see the Chicago Cubs not only atop the division again in 2019 – but playing deep into October.