Which player has been the most valuable to the Chicago Cubs?

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The Chicago Cubs have experienced their share of ups and downs in the first half, but these guys stand out as prime performers to this point in the season.

On Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs will close the book on the first half of the 2019 campaign. It hasn’t gone exactly as planned, with the club coming off its first sub-.500 month in over two years in June and locked in a dogfight with literally every other team in the division.

But with this week’s All-Star festivities in Cleveland, Joe Maddon‘s team can put this slow start behind them with their eyes on yet another strong second half. With one game remaining, the Cubs carry a .528 winning percentage – their second-lowest first-half mark in the Maddon era.

The only year where they were worse prior to the Midsummer Classic? 2017, when the team experienced the infamous World Series hangover before roaring back to win a second-straight NL Central crown with a strong first half.

Chicago will enter the second half, at a minimum, four games above .500 – pending the outcome of Sunday’s matchup with the rival White Sox. But that’s likely not going to cut it down the stretch, with all five National League Central division teams separated by a mere four games.

If the Cubs are going to make another second-half run and separate themselves from the pack, they’ll need these first-half standouts to keep up the pace and help lead this team back to October.

Chicago Cubs: Heyward has turned back the clock in 2019

Because of his team-record $184 million contract, Jason Heyward will likely never be evaluated fairly. He wasn’t worth that money when the Cubs brought him in prior to the 2016 campaign – but that’s hardly a reason to place unreasonable expectations on a player.

Heyward has never been a 30-100 threat – ever. But after a strong 2015 showing with the St. Louis Cardinals, people had delusions of grandeur for the outfielder when he came to Chicago. In his first year, his largest contribution aside from his defense came in the weight room at Progressive Field during the infamous Game 7 rain delay. And, for that, he garnered the love and affection of fans across the world.

But the ‘what have you done for me lately’ mentality took a stranglehold over Cubs fans in 2017 and 2018, with both seasons ending shy of a return to the Fall Classic. Both years, Heyward was a below-league average offensive player, posting an 84 and 94 OPS+, respectively.

2019, however, has been a very different story for the 29-year-old outfielder, who enters Sunday with a .267/.357/.460 line. His .816 OPS, over the course of an entire season, would represent his highest since his rookie season back in 2010.

The biggest difference this season for Heyward has been his ability to drive the ball. He’s already set his personal best as a Cub, blasting 14 home runs this season – and he’s gone through stretches where he uses the whole field remarkably well. If he can remain a positive offensive presence in the lineup through the second half, the lineup gets deeper and much more potent.

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Chicago Cubs: Contreras is back on top of the catching world

We all know the story of 2018 when it comes to Willson Contreras. He turned in a torrid start, earning the first All-Star selection of his young career. That really came as a surprise to no one – but what came to follow certainly wasn’t anticipated.

In the second half, Contreras cratered, leaving a gaping presence in an already struggling Chicago offense. But this winter, he rededicated himself to his game – and owned his lack of preparation down the stretch last year. The results have been nothing short of powerful.

Entering play Sunday, the Venezuelan-born backstop leads all qualifying big league catchers with a .945 OPS. He’s tracking well above his career marks in both batting average (.289) and on-base percentage (.383). Contreras trails only Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo when it comes to OBP – and his 18 home runs also rank third on the club.

Behind the dish, Contreras has gunned down 31 percent of would-be base stealers – keeping any team on their toes with his cannon of a right arm. He’s still got work to do defensively, but given his offensive contributions, he’s heading into the second half as not only one of the most valuable players on this Cubs team – but as one of the most valuable catchers in the game today.

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs: Bryant quietly returned to form this season

After an injury-plagued 2018 campaign, somehow a large contingency of Chicago Cubs fans moved on from Kris Bryant. I’m not sure how or why it happened – the logic of such thinking eludes me in its entirety.

“ ‘Get rid of him,’ ‘trade him’ — I was like, man, people are saying that about me?” he told the Chicago Sun-Times recently. “People have nothing but bad things to say about you when bad things are happening. That hurts. Being a people pleaser, it’ll really get to you if you let it. I felt terrible not being on the field.”

But Bryant kept his head down and got right back to work after turning in the worst statistical season of his career last season. He entered Sunday’s finale on the South Side of Chicago near the top of the team leaderboard in virtually every offensive category.

Home runs – 17 (4th)
RBI – 44 (4th)
Batting Average – .296 (1st)
On-Base Percentage – .402 (1st)
OPS – .953 (1st)

He’s definitely been more contact-oriented this season, but he’s waiting for his pitch and punishing mistakes. Bryant leads the team with 45 base on balls – and has been a steady presence in the middle of the Cubs’ order, where he usually hits second, but has shifted into the number three spot of late.

There are few players in the game today capable of impacting a game in as many ways as Bryant, who plays all over the field at Maddon’s request. His bat ranks among the best in baseball – and with a strong second half, we could see the 2016 NL MVP back in the conversation once again come season’s end.

Chicago Cubs: Can Baez get hot down the stretch again in 2019?

People love to hate Javier Baez. And he couldn’t care less.

“Even people that know what I’ve been through, they don’t like my game or they say they don’t have to because they grew up differently,” he told the Sun-Times. “And I don’t pay attention to that. I respect their comments. As long as they don’t go personal on my family and my style of playing we should be good.”

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Last year’s breakout campaign cast him into the national spotlight after he narrowly missed out on the Senior Circuit’s top honors to Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich. The young magician dazzled – especially in the summer months, putting up career-highs across-the-board.

But if you thought that was impressive, he’s been just as good so far in 2019. That’s right. The only reason you didn’t notice? Probably because guys like Josh Bell, Cody Bellinger and Yelich have been playing out of their minds since Opening Day. But if you put Baez’s 2018 and 2019 numbers side-by-side, they’re nearly identical.

2018: .290/.326/.554 – .881 OPS
2019: .290/.325/.560 – .885 OPS

It’s hard telling what the second half will hold for El Mago given his streaky tendencies. But this guy is undoubtedly the most exciting player in Major League Baseball. That’s not to say his emotion and aggression can’t get him into trouble – but those very characteristics solve far more problems than they create.

Next. Former top prospects now flourishing with other teams. dark

At this point, it’s too soon to name one guy the Most Valuable Player on this club. But one thing is for sure. If they get all these guys firing at the same time down the stretch, Chicago will go from languishing in a crowded division to dominating the National League scene in a hurry.

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