We’re now 7 days away from opening day for the 2018 MLB season. Coming up next on the list of my 2018 power rankings is number 7, the Chicago Cubs.
LAST YEAR
92-70. A first place finish in the NL Central and a bit of a world series hangover. The division was up for grabs for most of the season because of some competition between the unexpected Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs scored the second most runs in the NL and just two runs behind the Colorado Rockies. Chicago also had the fourth best ERA in the NL. The Cubs have an all-star lineup, there’s no question about that, but they hit just .255 last season, which ranked in the bottom half of the MLB. They got on base at a much higher clip, .338, which ranked on the top of the NL.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR
My difference maker this season for the Chicago Cubs this year is Jason Heyward. Heyward signed an 8-year contract worth $184 million back before the 2016 season. He’s going to be the Cubs right fielder this year, no matter what he does at the plate. This brings me to my point on why he’s my key contributor. If Heyward can hit at a higher clip this Cubs team will waltz away with the NL Central and exceed my power ranking at number 7. In his first two years of the deal Heyward has hit a slash line of .243/.315/.353. He is the second highest paid outfielder currently in the game and only behind the 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton. The rest of the lineup for the Cubs is very dangerous. Heyward has to deliver better results for the Cubs to keep them ahead in the NL race because they didn’t add any hitting pieces. Albert Almora will be competing for time in the outfield as well. The Cubs lost: Jake Arrieta, Jon Jay, Alex Avila and John Lackey. The biggest addition this offseason for the Cubs is Yu Darvish.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Cubs are going to have their hands full in the NL Central. It’s a three-way race between them, the Cardinals and the Brewers who both made a lot of moves this offseason. The Cardinals added Marcell Ozuna, Luke Gregerson, Bud Norris, Dominic Leone and Miles Mikolas. The Brewers added Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. It’ll be a fun race to keep track of throughout the MLB season.
Potential opening day lineup for the Cubs:
CF – Ian Happ
3B – Kris Bryant
1B – Anthony Rizzo
C – Willson Contreras
LF – Kyle Schwarber
2B – Addison Russell
2B – Javier Baez
RF – Jason Heyward
PREDICTION
90-72. 1st in the NL Central.
