Chicago Cubs: Just make Albert Almora your leadoff man already

(Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon wants to see more from the top of his lineup. Why not go back to what was already working: Albert Almora?

Maybe it’s the fact that he helped guide the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years, but I feel like I give Joe Maddon the benefit of the doubt on a lot of stuff.

The constant lineup tinkering. The sometimes odd use of the bullpen. His quirky dismissals of the Cubs’ annoyingly high strikeout rates as part of the team’s DNA.

And I get that there’s generally a method to the madness for the Cubs, whether it’s wanting guys to be prepared for multiple situations, wanting certain players to get going after early struggles (like hitting Anthony Rizzo lead-off recently) or knowing that this team is going to strike out a lot because of its focus on launch angles and hitting home runs.

Okay, I get that.

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Here’s what I don’t entirely understand: why is he continually overthinking the leadoff spot when he has been shown a perfectly viable option in Albert Almora?

As of a few days ago, Maddon apparently was still searching for the “right combination” to jump-start the Cubs’ lineup. Well, how about the guy who helped your team win 9-of-11 games at the top of the lineup?

In addition to his stellar outfield defense, Almora has been posting a .294/.342/.710 clip at the leadoff spot specifically. In particular, he’s been seeing and hitting the ball well at the top of the lineup, posting a .377 average on balls in play.

Of course, the argument against Almora typically is that he doesn’t take as many pitches as Maddon would like, though his plate discipline has improved over past years. But while that may be true in a relative sense, it would seem that he’s having plenty of success anyway.

He’s swinging at a higher percentage of pitches overall than in his first two years, but he’s kept his swings largely in the strike zone. As of now, he is swinging at pitches off the plate 3% less in 2018 than ever before. And when he swings, he makes contact at an almost 80% clip.

That might not be how Maddon typically draws it up, but the results have been there for Almora.

And with Ian Happ not playing well and Ben Zobrist simply not being the same player he was two seasons ago, why keep messing around with this? Why not just commit to Almora at the top of the lineup?

No one’s saying he’s a superstar leadoff man, but he’s generally hit the ball, gotten on base and scored runs when in that spot. As important as seeing pitches is for setting the table, won’t you take that tangible production as well?

From that standpoint, it confuses me that Maddon continues searching for a spark from the likes of Happ and Zobrist there when he’s arguably already found it in Almora. Sometimes, maybe you need to acknowledge a good thing and just let it play out.

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Almora may end up falling off like everyone else that Maddon tries out in that spot, but until then, why not give this an honest look? And let’s be real here: aside from Leadoff Rizzo, who’s proven better than him so far?

Maybe Maddon and the Chicago Cubs are suffering needlessly here.