Chicago Cubs: Top 3 players feeling the heat after team’s hot start

The Cubs have started hot but these guys might be feeling added pressure.

In what could be their last season with the players that brought the team a World Series championship back in 2016, the Chicago Cubs have come out on fire this season posting a 10-3 record and blasting critics who thought the team would be under too much turmoil to produce.

What’s different this season is that offensive production is coming from all corners of the dugout and new players like second baseman Jason Kipnis and outfielder Steven Souza Jr.have stepped up when the Cubs bats have gone quiet.

A few Cubs have struggled and are feeling the heat to pull their weight in this every game counts, every player must contribute season. Here’s the one’s feeling it the most:

Cubs need Albert Almora to step up, or it’s end of the road

Before the pandemic, Albert Almora came to spring training with chip on his shoulder. He looked ready to battle the demons of 2019 and begin taking his game to another level.  Almora has always been consistent in the outfield and his acrobatic prowess has caused critics and fans alike to sing his praises season after season.

The biggest question has always been whether he could tune the bat into a major league swing that could help his team? Last year, was by far his worst performance tallying a .236 average and a .271 OBP, the worst performance since he entered the league.

So do you keep playing the guy who isn’t performing? That isn’t Chicago Cubs manager David Ross’ mantra. Ross has made one thing clear to the team if you don’t perform; then you sit. Ross is holding players accountable and no one more than Almora.

Almora has only been to the plate 13 times this season compared to other Cubs outfielders who have gotten 30 or more trips to the dish. Out of those 13 trips, Almora has tallied two hits, five strikeouts and a pair of walks. Almora’s .154 average is among the lowest of active Cubs players.

Let’s face it, we know Almora can catch the ball but imagine the impact he could be making if his offense could match.  Teammates like centerfielder Ian Happ and utilityman David Bote, once considered in the same league, have passed their buddy offensively.

Almora is facing the heat to perform; can he meet the challenge?

Chicago Cubs: Jason Heyward isn’t carrying his weight at the plate

Every year Cubs fans hope that the guy who pulled the team together to win the last game of the World Series in 2016, will pull himself together and finally deliver a performance worthy of his paycheck and reputation.

And every year we are disappointed again.

When will Jason Heyward wake up from the offensive fog he has lost himself in? It took 513 at-bats last season for Heyward to put up the most hits (129) he’s had in a single season since 2016. Although he did get the chances and the hits last season, he also put up 110 strikeouts, the most since 2012 when he was with the Atlanta Braves.

This season, Heyward has visited the plate some 37 times and while other teammates with similar visits are holding averages in the .200-.300 range; Heyward entered action on Tuesday with an almost laughable .189 average this season.

I’m not going to re-hash how much we paid for him and how much he has underperformed for that amount of money but you begin to wonder when Heyward is going to start taking batting as seriously as he does playing the outfield.

There’s almost no time I see a fly ball to right field and think Heyward is not going to get that ball but likewise there’s almost no time I feel like he is going to get a hit when he comes to bat. Most fans see Heyward as an automatic out when he comes to the plate whether it’s strikeout, flyout or groundout.

If Heyward can’t pull it together in the next few games, look to Ross to put someone in who is putting the bat on the ball, because Heyward is feeling the heat right now.