Chicago Cubs: Five things to watch this spring training

Chicago Cubs: Leadoff has been a black hole since Dexter Fowler left, and Skipper Ross is going with his star third baseman

Let us get one thing straight; Kris Bryant is here to stay. He will now get the chance to “warm-up” the lineup batting leadoff. This was a decision that was officially made seemingly right as everyone reported to camp. Years past have seen Joe Maddon make a list of people who could do it, only making the position a rotating door.

As mentioned on the Climbing the Ivy podcast, the decision to make Bryant the leadoff man was overall very welcomed by the Cubs fans. The logistics make sense considering his OBP abilities and excellent baserunning can go a long way in setting the table for the offense. He will also get a lot of ABs and will be a unique opportunity to utilize him. It is pretty refreshing to have a guy picked and plugged in instead of experiments galore.

Bryant is ready to embrace the role and give it his all. He will likely have to change a few things in terms of his approach, but now is the time to do it in spring. Every time he leads off with a hit or walks, there will undoubtedly be people on Cubs Twitter talking about it. Let’s hope Bryant truly is an answer to a prayer that has been going up since 2017.