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Chicago Cubs: 3 wildly optimistic Opening Day predictions
There's nothing quite like it. Opening Day is upon us and, with it, a sense of optimism and promise. That's especially true for a team like the Cubs, who spent a ton of money and brought in a lot of new faces this offseason and feel like they're really starting a new chapter post-2016 for the first time.
For the third time in four years, the Cubs open the regular season with a matchup against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers. Last year's matchup, a 5-4 win, will always hold a special place in my heart because within 24 hours, my wife and I learned we were expecting our first child - so everything really changed for us shortly after that ballgame.
Now, we're parents of an almost-four-month-old girl who will be going to daycare on Thursday donning her first Cubs onesie, which just adds a whole new layer to being a fan for me this year: raising a member of the next generation of Wrigley faithful. So I'm trying to be optimistic - here are my 3 wildly expectations for Cubs Opening Day 2023.
3 wildly optimistic Cubs Opening Day predictions: #3 - Marcus Stroman outduels Corbin Burnes on the mound
I'm feeling pretty good about Marcus Stroman getting the first Opening Day start of his career on Thursday. He's locked in coming off his World Baseball Classic stint with Puerto Rico and was sharp in Cactus League action, too, posting a 0.90 ERA in three starts, spanning 10 frames.
He's fared well against the Brewers in his career and, apart from a pair of clunkers at Wrigley last year, was solid at home. Stroman cruised down the stretch in 2022 and set himself up nicely to build off that run to start the 2023 campaign. Going up against Corbin Burnes is a tall task, to be sure - but I think Stroman is up to the task.
3 wildly optimistic Cubs Opening Day predictions: #2 - Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson turn multiple double plays in their first game together
This isn't even being a homer. The Cubs have the best defensive middle infield duo in all of baseball in 2023. Chicago's prized offseason acquisition Dansby Swanson is under control for the next seven years, with Hoerner locked up via a recent extension through 2026.
Don't sleep on this tandem's offensive potential, either. Hoerner brings old-school bat-to-ball skills that have fallen by the wayside in today's game and Swanson is coming off the best offensive season of his career with the Braves. But I'm looking forward to the glovework display these two will put on every time they're on the field together.
In 2022, Hoerner and Swanson combined for 34 Outs Above Average - and Swanson ranked second in all of Major League Baseball, with 21 OAA on his own. Pairing the two up the middle gives the Cubs the opportunity to really improve run prevention moving forward.
Stroman is a huge groundball pitcher, so the opportunities won't be lacking on Opening Day. The cold, damp March Chicago air usually keeps the ball in the yard, so making key defensive plays and killing some rallies with a couple timely double plays could go a long way toward helping the Cubs notch a win to kick off the season.
3 wildly optimistic Cubs Opening Day predictions: #1: Cody Bellinger pops his first Cubs home run - an absolute moonshot
If Cody Bellinger miraculously reverts back to being the player who could change a game with one swing and was a one-man wrecking crew during his Rookie of the Year and MVP campaigns, the Cubs are going to be a problem in the NL Central.
As I've noted multiple times leading up to the season, given how good he is on the basepaths and with the glove, he doesn't even need to be that guy for the Cubs to find value here. But on the off-chance he all of the sudden becomes a 40-homer guy in the middle of the lineup again, hold onto your hats, folks.
For what it's worth, though, I think Bellinger comes through with a clutch home run on Opening Day. He's just 2-for-9 in his career against Burnes, but one of the two hits left the yard. His career slugging percentage is 80 points higher against righties as opposed to lefties and he's got a career .953 OPS against Milwaukee.
5 bold Cubs regular season predictions. dark. Next
Call it wishful thinking, but between that mark against the Brewers and a .964 OPS at the Friendly Confines, I'm preparing for the first Belli-bomb of 2023 right out of the gates.