Cubs may have tipped Opening Day starting lineup in final Cactus League game

In their Cactus League finale on Sunday, the Chicago Cubs may have previewed their Opening Day starting lineup. Chicago's 12-0 drubbing of the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday included home runs from Alex Bregman and Ian Happ and looked awfully like the lineup Craig Counsell could use on Thursday against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

The biggest question facing the Cubs would be the plan in right field. Seiya Suzuki is expected to open the season on the IL, and as Sunday confirmed, Matt Shaw will be the primary right fielder in his place.

1. Michael Busch, 1B
2. Alex Bregman, 3B
3. Ian Happ, LF
4. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
5. Nico Hoerner, 2B
6. Carson Kelly, C
7. Moisés Ballesteros, DH
8. Dansby Swanson, SS
9. Matt Shaw, RF

The Cubs' Opening Day starting lineup appears to be set, but there will soon be changes.

As of now, the expectation is that the Cubs will also have outfielders Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson on the bench. Conforto was informed over the weekend that he would be on the Cubs' Opening Day roster, and it would seem that Carlson did enough during spring training to earn a spot.

Even with Conforto and Carlson having more experience in the outfield than Shaw, it's clear that an underlying storyline to the 2026 season would be finding ways to get the 2023 first-round pick regular plate appearances. For now, with Suzuki sidelined, the easiest way to do that would be by inserting him as the starting right fielder.

Once Suzuki returns, the biggest change in the lineup may happen with Pete Crow-Armstrong. Suzuki may take over as the Cubs' cleanup hitter with Crow-Armstrong moving down in the lineup. Depending on Crow-Armstrong's development in 2026, there should be an opportunity for him to unseat Ian Happ near the top of the lineup.

As for Happ, there could be some concern that he is too high in the order. Happ has easily been the Cubs' most consistent hitter over the past four years, but his cold spells can make having him near the top of the lineup a headache. Still, it would seem that Counsell is going to start the season by giving Happ the benefit of the doubt.

The potential is there for the Cubs to have a strong starting lineup during the 2026 season. Though how successful it will be is based on what version of Crow-Armstrong they get. For now, it's hard to take much issue witht the lineup Counsell may use on Thursday.