Projected Cubs home run leader could do something we haven't seen since 2019

If this really is a one-and-done, a brief fling with Kyle Tucker before he hits free agency at year's end, the Chicago Cubs had best make the most of it. Few are doubting what the former All-Star will bring to the table: star power and elite offensive production, both of which the Cubs have lacked for some time.

MLB.com is pegging Tucker to be the team's home run leader in 25 - projecting him for 30 long balls near the top of Chicago's batting order. The outfielder has popped 30 twice in his career (2021, 2022) and would have blown past that mark last year, but suffered an injury that really cut his season short. In just 78 games with the Astros, Tucker hit 23 homers and slugged a career-best .585.

Steamer projections agree, with Tucker slated for 31 home runs and 101 RBI. If he hit those numbers, not only would he deliver the Cubs' first 30-homer season since Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber in 2019, he'd be the first to eclipse 100 runs batted in since 2018 (Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez).

Chicago seems focused on making sure the 26-man is at 100 percent for the domestic opener on March 27 in Arizona, with both Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner trending in the right direction. Hoerner won't travel with the team to Japan and Shaw is expected to get into Cactus League action in the coming days.

Given how tough the first month is schedule-wise for the Cubs, they'll need Tucker to anchor the offense and be that top-tier offensive presence he's been for much of his career. Another key piece of the puzzle? Outfielder-turned-DH Seiya Suzuki, who MLB.com tapped as the other guy on the team to keep an eye on.

Suzuki, who is coming off a career-best 3.5 bWAR in 2024, hit 21 homers last season - the high-water mark in his three-year MLB career. The hope, though, is that locked into the DH spot, he can take his offensive game to new heights this season, establishing himself as a powerful middle-of-the-order run producer behind Tucker.

If the Cubs somehow got two 30-homer performers in 2025, the team could be in a good spot to make an October run. But one thing is certain: this club will go as far as Tucker carries them.