Who Will Hit Ninth for the Chicago Cubs?

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is talking about hitting his pitchers eighth in the order again this season. If he does, who hits ninth for the Cubs?

When it comes to Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, you can never be sure what to expect. Not only he is a wacky personality, Maddon is one of the most creative managers in the game. He is never afraid to try something new just to see if it works.

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In his first season with the Cubs in 2015, Maddon hit the pitcher in the eighth spot in the order for a huge majority of the season. He wasn’t the first manager to try it, but it is rare to see. Maddon talked about how hitting the pitcher eighth allowed him to put a second leadoff hitter of sorts in the nine-hole.

Basically, instead of having a near automatic out ninth, having a professional hitter there allows more opportunities for the top of the order to drive them in. In 2015, Cubs shortstop Addison Russell was Maddon’s number nine hitter for a huge majority of the season.

Like almost every other team in baseball, the Cubs hit their pitcher ninth in 2016. I figured that Maddon’s experiment was over. Well, I guess not.

It appears that the pitcher with be batting in the eight spot again, and it makes a ton of sense. Kyle Schwarber is going to lead off for the Cubs to start the season. On most days, the Cubs will have Schwarber, NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo first, second and third in their lineup. Now that is a lot of fire-power.

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Hitting Schwarber first is a unique move, but he is a high-OBP guy who can certainly have success at the top. Also, it is not like he will lead off every inning. Schwarber will still get many opportunities with runners on base. Which bring us back to the bottom of the order.

Instead of having his pitcher hit ninth, Maddon appears to be leaning towards putting a professional hitter in the spot. This is only going to create more RBI opportunities for Schwarber, Bryant and Rizzo. Maddon knows where the firepower is in his lineup and he is going to construct the order in a way to allow them to have success.

Russell was the Cubs’ ninth hitter in 2015, but that is not going to happen again. Maddon liked having the young Russell hit ninth to keep the pressure off. Russell is now an elite-level shortstop who is going to drive in runs in the middle of the Cubs’ lineup. So, who will hit ninth this time around?

In my eyes, there are a couple of options. First, Jason Heyward, who is coming off of far and away the worst season of his career. Heyward hit an ugly .230/.306/.325 last season, looking completely lost at the plate for a majority of the year.

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Hitting him ninth would hide him low in the order if he continues to struggle, but if Heyward turns it back around, he could be a real asset in that spot. When he is on his game, Heyward is a high-OBP hitter who controls the strike zone extremely well. He could essentially be a leadoff hitter for the Cubs in front of Schwarber, Bryant and Rizzo after the first time through the order. If he gets his offensive issues figured out, Heyward could be a massive weapon out of the nine-hole.

Albert Almora would be another solid option to hit ninth. Similar to Russell in 2015, hitting the young Almora ninth would take the pressure off of him to produce at a high-level. Plus, hitting just ahead of Schwarber, Bryant and Rizzo would give Almora a ton of good pitches to hit.

No pitcher is going to work around Almora with those big boppers coming up behind him. He would undoubtedly see a heavy dose of fastballs in the zone, which would obviously be ideal for such a young hitter. When Almora is in the lineup, hitting him ninth would make a ton of sense.

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Whether it is Almora, Heyward or someone else, there will be opportunity for the Cubs’ ninth hitter to shine this season. With Schwarber, Bryant and Rizzo behind him, there is not a spot in the lineup with more protection. Heck, there may not be a better trio to hit in front of in all of baseball.