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Chicago Cubs: Lots of familiar faces
If a talented group of established big league stars underachieved more than the Cubs infield, I don’t really know them. Between nagging injuries, a lack of video availability, and the circumstances dictated by the league’s COVID protocols, it’s clear the Chicago infielders were ‘off’ last season.
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However, in fantasy land, that just means you may be able to swing a deal and swindle someone out of a really good player by buying low. Anthony Rizzo has one of the most consistent track records amongst MLB stars and looks to be back on track judging by the bombs he’s hitting in spring training so far.
Kris Bryant also appears to be healthy and back to normal, and would be a huge fantasy get for his walks and power game. Javier Baez, while he’s never going to be a huge OBP guy, could come through with speed and power in many leagues. Unfortunately, most leagues aren’t going to reward you for his defensive wizardry, but I guess as Cubs fans you’ll have to live with that in the real league.
Willson Contreras is the one member of the infield group (who some may not even consider there as a catcher) who didn’t struggle mightily all year, and offers a ton of upside as a premier-hitting catcher who plays a ton. It’s hard to find offensive catchers in the first place, and getting one who hits well, draws some walks, hits for power, and plays a ton is pretty tough to do. Contreras, when healthy, checks all those boxes.
That leaves second base as the last infield spot, and while it’s not completely set in stone, my money would be on Nico Hoerner, who is just lighting up the ball so far this spring and looks primed to run with that starting second base gig. He could be a late round sleeper in many leagues as he’s not gonna even be on many people’s radars as a bonafide starter.