Chicago Cubs: Creating the perfect lineup of the 2000s

Second Base: Ben Zobrist

Career Numbers with Chicago Cubs: 461 games, .269/.362/.411, 40 home runs, 201 RBI, 109 wRC+, 8.2 fWAR

Putting together this middle infield was not easy, but how could we leave the 2016 World Series MVP out of this lineup?  The Cubs signed Zobrist after the 2015 season, as they continued to aggressively build their roster into a contender. Zobrist’s ability to make consistent contact makes a huge difference in the middle of a Cubs’ lineup filled with power hitters. His defensive versatility was also huge for the team.

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Zobrist was awesome in both 2016 and 2018 with the Chicago Cubs but had down years in both 2017 and 2019. He was not a perfect player in Chicago, but Zobrist came around and fill an important role exactly when the Cubs needed him. Plus, he also had the biggest hit in the history of the franchise. That has to count for something.

Shortstop: Javy Baez

Career Numbers with Chicago Cubs: 665 games, .270/.310/.484, 110 home runs, 354 RBI, 105 wRC+, 13.9 fWAR

Javier Baez has grown into one of the most exciting players in all of baseball. He has always had tremendous raw power at the plate, but he has improved his contact ability in recent years. On top of that, Baez is a Gold Glove-caliber defender all across the infield and one of the best baserunners in the entire game.

Baez has the ceiling of a legitimate MVP candidate every season and has already put together an impressive career with the Chicago Cubs. Plus, at only 27-years-old, the sky is the limit for the rest of his career. Not only is Javy Baez one of the best Cubs of this era, but he also has a chance to go down as an all-time player for the team.

Honorable Mention: Starlin Castro

It was difficult to keep Starlin Castro off of this team. For so much of the early 2010s, Castro was the only player worth paying attention to on the Cubs.

However, Epstein and company traded Castro away prior to the 2016 season in order to make room for Zobrist. Baez was an obvious choice for this team and the Cubs replaced Castro with Zobrist and then won the World Series. How could I put Castro over Zobrist after that happened?

Castro played an extremely important role for this team, but there just isn’t enough room for him in this lineup.

Other Players of Note: Addison Russell, Ryan Theriot, Mark DeRosa and Darwin Barney