Chicago Cubs: Projecting the 2021 Opening Day lineup

With Spring Training games a week away and Opening Day only a month from then, it seems as perfect a time as any to start speculating on the squad the Chicago Cubs will send out there behind Kyle Hendricks on Opening Day. Sure, most of the country is mired in the snow and cold weather, but it’s comfortable and 70 degrees in Mesa, AZ today, so let’s play ball.

While much ado has been made of the Cubs’ offseason this winter, the club that runs out onto Wrigley Field on April 1 might not be all that different than the one that you saw in the shortened 2020 season this summer and fall. Other than swapping out Kyle Schwarber with Joc Pederson, the lineup is really going to be very familiar and will ultimately come down to lineup construction for now second-year manager David Ross.

Sure, the bullpen, bench and rotation might look a lot different from this past fall, but the guys you’ve watched run around on the field and step in the box over the past four or five years seemingly won’t change a ton, barring a late trade or worse yet, an injury in the next month. Without further temporizing, let’s take a look at what the Opening Day lineup will look like in the first year of the “Jed Hoyer Era.”

Chicago Cubs: Look for another strong start from the leadoff man

When healthy and right, Ian Happ is one of the best young players in the game. He can run, he can hit from both sides of the plate, he can hit with power and he’s versatile. He may not have a permanent home defensively, but he will probably remain the Cubs’ primary center fielder for most of 2021.

He’s also just coming into his own on and off the field and blossoming as a leader on a team where he was the young guy on a club with a core group of players just a few years older than him.

Happ got the nod of confidence from Ross in 2020 to lead off and basically ran with it until a freak foul ball to the eye derailed his breakout year. He’s already got his manager’s approval as the guy at the top in 2021, with Ross declaring “Happer” the man to start things off for the Cubs on Opening Day. And really, why wouldn’t he?

Overall, Happ produced a .258/.361/.505 slash line to go along with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, 30 walks and 28 RBI, as well as a down-ballot MVP vote. What that doesn’t take into account, however, is that up until that foul ball on September 3, Happ was slashing .311/.421/.648 with 10 bombs. Oh, and he was most definitely right in the mix for NL MVP at that point. After that point, the Cubs offense basically went downhill fast without a catalyst to start things at the top, and they never really recovered.

Here’s hoping a healthy Happ can set the table and keep the offense happy and happening all season long in 2021. Read on to see who’s going to hit behind him.

Chicago Cubs: One last go-round for Bryzzo?

With rumors swirling and contracts expiring at the end of the season, this very well could be the last time you’ll see Bryzzo take the field on Opening Day.

Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have been stalwarts in the Opening Day lineup for the Cubs since 2016, and would have been together an extra year in 2015 if not for the contract manipulation with Bryant that took place. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and it’s hard to envision both being on the 2022 Opening Day roster given the fact the Cubs haven’t extended anyone in the core group yet.

Regardless of the contracts and the fact this might be their last merry-go-round, there’s a reason these two guys have been at the top of the lineup for the Cubs quite often over the past six seasons when healthy – they’re really good at getting on base. Bryant, despite his nagging injuries and struggles over the past several seasons, still owns a career OBP of .380, while his counterpart at first base sports a sterling .372 career mark of his own. With their ability to get on base and score runs at the top of the lineup, you can be sure these two will be somewhere in the first four hitters.

After that, you’re going to see a combination of the two right-handed sluggers, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras. Baez, while not the on-base guy that Contreras is, gives the Cubs a presence whenever he gets on base and is always making things happen with his feet and instincts on the bases. Contreras, who may play even more with Victor Caratini shipped off to San Diego in the Yu Darvish deal, is a possible MVP candidate with his prowess at and behind the dish.

Unfortunately, Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez are all free agents after the season, while Contreras has one extra year of control. The Cubs haven’t extended any of them yet, you can be sure the front office is going to get superb years from all if healthy given the fact they’ll be playing for big contracts next offseason.

Chicago Cubs: Let’s hope 2021 sees Ross repeating this

Projected 2021 Chicago Cubs Opening Day Lineup:

• CF- Ian Happ
• 3B- Kris Bryant
• 1B- Anthony Rizzo
• C- Willson Contreras
• SS- Javier Baez
• LF- Joc Pederson
• RF- Jason Heyward
• 2B- Nico Hoerner
• P- Kyle Hendricks