Chicago Cubs: Four position players who must excel in 2018

4. Kyle Schwarber

Aside from Javier Baez, there might not be a more fun player to watch on the Chicago Cubs than Schwarber.

Of course, while literally anything Baez does is noteworthy, we don’t care that much about what Schwarber does in the field. All that matters is that he doesn’t hurt himself or screw anything up.

But when he’s standing at the plate, how can you not just bathe in the anticipation?

I mean, while he didn’t enjoy it at the time, even Darvish is relishing the chance to see this every day.

With one smooth yet violent swing of the bat, Schwarber can hit a ball so hard and so far that you can hear the cover flapping as it rockets out of the park. Very few things are more entertaining than that.

Truthfully, it’s even more amazing that Schwarber still hit 30 home runs last year despite his otherwise awful year at the plate. He hit just .211/.315/.782 and struck out a hilarious 150 times.

And that leadoff thing? Well, the theory behind it made sense, but the execution left something to be desired.

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Assuming the slimmed-down, jacked-up Schwarber drops back down to the middle of the order where he belongs, imagine the carnage that could take place with a murderer’s row of Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber at full power?

Those 2018 projections of 25 home runs and 68 RBI might not stand a chance. At least, that’s what Chicago Cubs fans hope.