3 Chicago Cubs players who will shatter expectations in 2023

The Chicago Cubs look ready to make a run at the NL Central again with the additions they made in the offseason. With the Cardinals relying on some very good, but aging players like Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt to carry them, and the Milwaukee Brewers penny-pinching their ace in arbitration, the Cubs are looking to take advantage of their division's weakness and sneak into the playoffs. And there are many underrated guys on this ball club that will help the Cubs return to October baseball. Here are three guys currently on the Cubs roster that will shatter expectations in 2023.

1. Seiya Suzuki

After a rocky first year in MLB, complete with a weeks-long injury and average offensive production, Seiya Suzuki is set to prove all the haters wrong. Some projections have the Japanese-born outfielder finishing the 2023 campaign with just 12 home runs, which is just crazy. With a season to get his feet wet in MLB and learn the dynamics of the Chicago Cubs, I think Suzuki is primed for a big year. After all, the reason the Cubs signed him is because of his impressive track record in Japan. He has multiple gold gloves and 25+ homer seasons under his belt while playing for the Hiroshima Carp. We saw glimpses of his power and plate discipline last season, and he will be the undisputed right-fielder now that Jason Heyward is gone. If he can put it all together, Suzuki will be a force to be reckoned with in a Cubs lineup that has added other power hitters like Trey Mancini, Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson to supplement him.

2. Justin Steele

After a breakout year in 2022 with a 3.18 ERA in 119 innings, left-handed starter Justin Steele is looking to take another big step in the Cubs' starting rotation. Although they have a lot of starting pitching depth, the Cubs are in need of ace-level production, and they could potentially get it out of Steele. Even though his struggles were mighty in the first half, Steele began to turn heads down the stretch, with an impressive 0.96 ERA in August over 5 starts. If he can stay healthy, I expect he will put up some respectable numbers in a full season of work.