3 Cubs rookies with a strong chance to make the Opening Day roster

Hope springs eternal for the Chicago Cubs as we're officially in Spring Training mode. This will be a preseason to watch for the Northsiders between all the exciting prospects coming to big league camp and first looks at newly-inked Cubs Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, and more in action. Roster battles should be front and center, however, as the team shakes out who deserves the final few spots on the Opening Day roster.

Currently, the team should be on the lookout for potential bench pieces, bullpen arms, and, most importantly, their fifth starter over the next several weeks. It presents an opportunity for some Cubs rookies to step up and claim a spot for themselves, especially if another player falters. Based on what we saw last year too, there are simply some players that have earned the right to a spot and, barring any poor performance in Spring Training, have a very good shot to be with the team when they start their season in Milwaukee. Let's look at three of the rookies who have the best chance to make the Opening Day roster.

#3: Darius Hill

There are a lot of borderline major league bats waiting in Triple-A at the moment, even if they aren't at the top of any prospect lists. For my money, Darius Hill seems like the likeliest of that bunch to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. While the Cubs have their outfield set and guys like Trey Mancini, Patrick Wisdom, and Christopher Morel could play out there, they don't have a primary outfielder on the bench at the moment. Hill would face competition from guys like Ben DeLuzio and Nelson Velazquez, but I think he could be the guy.

Hill offers a very contact-heavy approach, raking at every level of the minors so far in his career. Last year at Triple-A Iowa, he posted a 318/.358/.434 slash line with a 110 wRC+ across 373 plate appearances. Moreover, Hill would add another lefty bat to the team and could competently play center field in the absence of Cody Bellinger. He'll need to show he can handle big league camp this year, but there's a fair chance he ultimately breaks camp and heads to Chicago.

#2: Jeremiah Estrada

Finding a job in the Cubs bullpen will be no small feat this Spring. Both Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger joined the team this year, Rowan Wick, Brandon Hughes, and Keegan Thompson all have spots locked up, and the rest will be a dogfight including Adrian Sampson, Javier Assad, Roenis Elias, Julian Merryweather, Michael Rucker, and so many more. That said, Jeremiah Estrada has the potential to rise to the top.

Estrada got a very brief run in Chicago last year and demonstrated exactly why he's arguably the team's best relief prospect. He's been a menace throughout his minor league career, rising from High A to the majors in 2022 with a minuscule ERA along the way and sky-high strikeouts. It's his fastball, a killer upper-90s heater with movement to rival some of the best players in baseball. In his first appearance alone, he was throwing with five inches of vertical movement above average. That's without considering his slider which was his primary put-away pitch and boasted devastating movement of its own. His brief showing was so good that Eno Sarris ranked Estrada as one of his sleeper fantasy closers for this year.

It's more a matter of when Estrada returns to the majors than if. His talent is sky high and he projects as a future closer with a little more refinement. Even with the crowded field, there's always going to be the possibility that he clicks in Spring Training, injuries and underperformance happen elsewhere, and he squeaks onto the Opening Day roster. He also only