Chicago Cubs: Who needs to shine during the shortened season?

Next week the Chicago Cubs report to camp as MLBPA and owners reach a deal on a shortened season

The offseason is officially over. Soon, Chicago Cubs baseball will be back on the air, and everything will feel somewhat normal again. Granted, the season will consist of only 60 regular-season games.

There will be some new rules implemented that have made some of us cringe already. Hopefully, these changes won’t carry over into 2021. We already deal with umpires and their blown calls, which is more than enough and stressful as it is.

With that said, it’s time to get back to business. If we thought a full 162 schedule would challenge this team, a shortened season would be interesting. Given the number of games lost, there will be no room for error.

This is something new manager David Ross is going to need to make apparent. Last season ended a four-year postseason run, leaving fans frustrated. If things are going to turn around during this 60-game schedule, then these three men need to bring their absolute best once it’s time to play ball.

Chicago Cubs are going to need more from this starter

Consistency hasn’t always been Jose Quintana’s friend. Entering his third full year as a member of the Cubs, Jose has been on what you could call a rollercoaster. Ahead of the lockdown, Quintana made two Cactus League starts in which he surrendered four earned runs (six hits) in four frames.

Last year, the 31-year-old southpaw ended the campaign with a career-worst 4.68 ERA despite winning 13 games. Opposing hitters tallied 89 earned runs on 191 hits (also a career-worst) against Quintana in 171 innings pitched.

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Two more than his previous career-high, which was set in a split season with both the White Sox and Cubs. You know when Theo Epstein traded top prospect, Eloy Jimenez, to the South Side to acquire Quintana’s services.

The 2019 version that needs to show up this year has to be from August. That month Quintana yielded eight runs in 35 2/3 innings while posting a 39/6 K/BB ratio, 2.02 ERA, and record of 4-1.

With the National League adopting the DH for the season, it will be familiar territory for Jose, who spent the early portion of his career in the American League. The same goes for Chicago’s No. 1 southpaw, Jon Lester.

This Chicago Cubs outfielder is out to silence his critics

One member of this outfield who has had it rough is Ian Happ. Happ began the 2018 season with a lead-off home run on the first pitch that was delivered in Miami. A year later, fans found him starting things off with the Iowa Cubs due to him striking out 167 times.

It was a mental battle for Ian; however, he did not give up on returning to the big leagues. On July 25, Chicago gave Happ a second chance to prove himself. In 58 games, Happ .264/.333.564 with 11 home runs, 30 RBI, and struck out 39 times through 140 at-bats.

Before departing, skipper Joe Maddon used Happ in several positions other than the outfield and his secondary, which is second base. He made seven appearances at first base and eight at third, giving his manager other options to work with.

Before baseball operations came to a halt, Happ was lighting up the Cactus League. In 27 at-bats, the 25-year-old switch-hitter recorded 13 hits (two home runs, 11 RBI) on an outstanding batting line of .481/.500/.815.

Now that National League managers will be allowed to experiment with the DH rule, Happ should get more playing time. Ross will use Kyle Schwarber as the teams DH, keeping Albert Almora Jr in center field and Jason Heyward in right field.

Expect Ian to keep things rolling.