Chicago Cubs: Five bold predictions for 2020 and beyond

With a new skipper and a talented core, the Chicago Cubs are still in a position to make big things happen in 2020 and beyond- here are five predictions about what the future might hold.

As Alexander Pope once wrote in his An Essay on Man, “hope springs eternal.” This optimism may seem a bit trite if you’re a Marlins or Mariners fan, but it shouldn’t be if you’re a Cubs fan. Yes, even with the seemingly unproductive winter and lack of free-agent signings. Yes, even with the inauspicious rollout of the vaunted and much-ballyhooed Marquee Network.

Baseball season is finally upon us, and if a little Cubs baseball or a Willson Contreras bomb to center didn’t do the trick for you yesterday, perhaps the smell of freshly-cut grass and the sound of leather-popping fastballs will make it happen in the near future. The 2020 version of the Chicago Cubs may not seem a whole lot different than the 2019 version, but Davis Ross is no doubt feeling a swelling of optimism in his breast that appears to have instilled new life in a team that hasn’t changed a ton over the last couple years.

Now that Ross has taken over for now-Chicago legend Joe Maddon, things are different. Maddon may have been more likely to wax philosophical about Pope, but Ross seems hellbent on going out and making it happen. That can only bode well for this season and beyond. So, without further ado, here are five bold and optimistic predictions for this year’s club and future of the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago Cubs: Darvish and Hendricks and… three youngsters

The Cubs will have a veteran rotation heading into 2020 that could very well be excellent. If the arms can stay healthy and pitch to career norms, the first four in the rotation should provide a rock-solid foundation for the club this season. If one or two of Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester, and Jose Quintana can be better than their career norms, that sets up the club for an extremely successful season.

Granted, the fifth spot in the rotation is still in limbo, as Tyler Chatwood, Adbert Alzolay, and Alec Mills all have legitimate cases to make here in the early spring. Again, that combination should be able to hold down that last spot in some way, at least until the trade deadline in July.

After 2020, however, is a different story. Only Darvish and Hendricks are signed past this season, and in all likelihood, those are the only two who will remain in 2021. No need to panic just yet, though, as Alzolay, Mills, and uber-talented southpaw minor-league prospect Brailyn Marquez could very well make up the rest of the rotation as early as next year.

If you only like two of the three, you’re probably also in good shape. After resetting the tax hit in 2020 (which it seems the Cubs are going to try and do this season), it’s incredibly likely they would target a young and controllable arm either in a trade or free agency next offseason.

The bottom line is that even though only 40% of the rotation is finalized for next year as of this moment, there is help coming, some of which you’ll also be able to see in Chicago this season.

Chicago Cubs: Look for Darvish and Hendricks to push each other

Speaking of Hendricks and Darvish holding down the Cubs rotation past 2020, here’s a daring thought: one of the two will win the Cy Young Award in the next couple seasons. While neither pitcher resembles the other in terms of repertoire or pure stuff, both guys are thinkers with nasty pitches who can stifle any lineup when they bring their “A” game. Both right-handers have already posted a top-three Cy Young season, and the Cubs will need them to be at their very best as they are now the top dogs in an aging rotation.

Hendricks, who has been dubbed “The Professor” for his thoughtful and unflappable approach to pitching, put up a season for the ages alongside Lester and Jake Arrieta in 2016, finishing the season with a 2.13 ERA that led all of MLB. While he hasn’t touched that same elite level since he has posted a 3.33 ERA since and carries a career ERA of just 3.14.

In fact, despite rarely touching 90 mph on the radar gun, Hendricks currently holds the fifth-best ERA amongst active pitchers in all of MLB. While he’s been consistently good throughout his career, look for Hendricks to look a lot like his ’16 self going forward after an offseason that saw Hendricks switch to a new workout regimen.

Darvish, meanwhile, has been an enigma in his two years with the Cubs but seems to be finding his voice and place in Chicago. 19th on the active career ERA leaders with a career 3.57 ERA (right behind teammate Jon Lester), Darvish saw his first year with the Cubs go down the tubes thanks to injury.

In his second year with the club, Darvish made a lot of naysayers and haters happy early on in 2019 with some mediocre starts but turned things around for a monumental second half which saw him post an absurd K/BB rate of 151/12 from June 10 until the end of the season. And, while he only posted a 4-4 W/L record in July, August, and September, Darvish did post a 2.95 ERA and 124/7 K/BB rate. If Darvish can continue doing that, the Cubs should expect him to be one of the best hurlers in the NL along with Hendricks for the next couple of years.

Chicago Cubs: Your 2020 NL Rookie of the Year

This could be the boldest of my predictions, only because it’s going to take a lot of health and luck going forward for three different guys. Anyways, here it is: a Chicago Cubs will win the NL Rookie of the Year award in three straight years- 2020, 2021, and 2022. While Nico Hoerner in 2020 might be easy to call and Hoerner might even be one of the frontrunners if he gets to (or starts in) Chicago soon enough, 2021 and 2022 seem like a long way away.

Hoerner has all the raw ability and wherewithal to handle the big stage, as we’ve already seen in his September 2019 stint. His instincts, knowledge, and head make him a surefire bet to have a long and successful big league career. Even if he’s not the starting second baseman on Opening Day 2020, he will be in 2021 and for the foreseeable future. (He’s also the only legitimate guy who can currently back up Javier Baez at shortstop for any length of time, should the irrepressible El Mago need a day or two).

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Look for him to either start the season with the Cubs or get the call soon after that when Ross, Epstein and the rest of the Cubs realize they need more than an aged Jason Kipnis or nice utility guy, David Bote. If he’s up soon enough, he’ll start almost every game while he’s up. If he does that, he’ll be your 2020 NL Rookie of the Year.

In 2021, the Cubs will look to left-handed fireballer Marquez to join the rotation (as we’ve already covered). Marquez has the stuff, and he’ll have his manager and front office’s blessing to go out there and dominate NL hitters in a way the Cubs haven’t seen since Kerry Wood and Mark Prior busted on the big stage. Once he’s off and running, he’ll collect the ’21 NL ROY.

In 2022, the Cubs will have already offered a contract extension that buys out pre-arb and arbitration years for prospect Brennen Davis, allowing him to start the season with the big league club. Already a top 50 Fangraphs prospect, and the 78th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Davis could very well be a top 10 prospect after the 2021 season. If he continues making strides and mastering each level, his natural talent and athleticism could make him a fearsome all-around MLB player. Look for him to take the 2022 NL ROY after Hoerner and Marquez before him.

Chicago Cubs: Ross will eclipse Maddon in managerial fame and legend

This is also saying something as his mentor and predecessor will go down as one of the greatest Cubs managers of all time. Maddon, for all his quirks and how he went out, is the most exceptional Cub manager of most of our lifetimes.

He is the only man living who has steered the ship of a World Champion Cubs team, and he almost single-handedly brought an end to the moniker of “lovable losers.” The Cubs, thanks to Maddon, Epstein (and probably the Ricketts as well), no longer are okay with just existing and giving Chicago fans a place to go and hang out to watch a mediocre ballclub.

Instead, they are a club that has become more like the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers- bluebloods in MLB with deep pockets to dispel any notion of a “window of contention.” There may still be bumps in the road as with any juggernaut or dynasty, but the Cubs are winners and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. David Ross will not accept anything less.

Which brings me to my last bold prediction: David Ross will eclipse Maddon in terms of status in the Windy City and in Commissioner’s trophies with the Cubs. The first may not be that hard to do, considering Ross is already the most famous back-up catcher in Chicago history. How many others hit a home run in game 7 of the World Series? I’ll wait.

The second part is the best prediction of them all- that Ross will bring another trophy home for the best professional sports team in Chicago in the next couple of years. Maybe not in 2020, but before he’s done, Ross will hoist yet another trophy during a parade through Chicago with his Bryzzo buddies.

Hope is springing eternal in Mesa as the grass is growing and guys with Cubbie are throwing spherical white balls bears on their jerseys. Let’s hope just a couple of these predictions come true, and we’ll all continue to be happy and hopeful Cub fans well into the Ross regime.