Da Windy City
Fansided

Chicago Cubs: Predicting the Opening Day Lineup

By Dan Schmelzer

Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of game six of the 2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of game six of the 2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 10
Next
Kris Bryant Chicago Cubs
Oct 30, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) rounds around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Cleveland Indians during the fourth inning in game five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

3. 3B Kris Bryant

Hitting third and playing third is the reigning National League MVP. Kris Bryant hit second in the Cubs’ lineup throughout most of his MVP season, but with Schwarber back in the mix, third makes more sense in my eyes.

Joe Maddon does not typically worry about left-right mixes in the batting order. That being said, any combination of Schwarber, Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in the middle of the Cubs lineup makes sense. Sandwiching the right-handed Bryant between two lefties makes the most sense.

Bryant is an extremely powerful offensive weapon who shows an incredible overall skill-set. Bryant hit .292/.385/.554 on the season with 39 home runs and a league-leading 121 runs scored.

More from Chicago Cubs

Clearly a valuable offensive player, there is so much more to like about Bryant’s game. He plays near gold glove caliber defense at third base and is arguably an even better defender when asked to play in the outfield. Bryant is a great teammate who is completely willing to play any position that Joe Maddon asks him to.

His offensive and defensive versatility is obvious, but Bryant is also an incredible base runner. He is not the fastest guy on the field at any time, but he does an incredible job of getting a good jump and taking the extra base when available.

We saw Bryant’s base running expertise on full display in Game 7 of the World Series. First, when he scored on a short sacrifice fly off of the bat of Addison Russell and later when he scored from first base on a single by Anthony Rizzo.

Bryant is a complete baseball player who impacts the game in a variety of ways. He will once again be an MVP contender in the middle of the Cubs’ lineup.

Home/Chicago Cubs