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Post by Returnofstevefitz on Feb 19, 2020 10:40:16 GMT -5
Per Bruce Levine, Kris Bryant will be the Cubs leadoff hitter for 2020. Kris Bryant confirms, he'll be leading off and he's embraced it. Wants to lead off. I fucking love it!!! I've been wanting KB to lea d off for the last 2 seasons.
1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Willy C 6. Heyward RF 7. Happ CF 8. Nico/Note/Descalso 2B 9. Pitcher
Lets go!!!!
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Post by tehmpus on Feb 19, 2020 10:56:36 GMT -5
Also, the way Kipnis is talking about Nicom it sounds like he thinks Nico is staying up with the big club out of ST. If Kipnis makes the team he excited to work with Nico and help him grow as a player. I always said I thought it was a long shot Kipnis made the team. Now, as long as he can hit somewhat, I think his presence may be required by Theo/Ross on the roster. We'll see how ST goes. If Kipnis is healthy in ST I believe he will make the team and he would be a great bench guy to have & would be a great mentor to the younger guys. I still don't think 288 at bats above single A is nearly enough for NICO & couple that with the fact that if they keep him down a month & a half they get the extra year of control on our ONLY top 50 MILB prospect. Playing & hitting every day in AAA cannot possibly hurt his development so I see very little downside if any.. I disagree. My opinion hasn't changed. If they're ready... they should play. If they still have glaring flaws in their game... they should not be allowed to try to learn on the fly at the major league level. It shouldn't be about years of control and service time. I don't know if Nico is ready. Hopefully he gets a lot of ABs in spring training, and the team can evaluate him properly. I will say that top prospects shouldn't be called up, just to be bench warmers. If he earns a starting spot (and is ready), then he should start the year with the team. Don't keep him in the majors as a pinch hitter/defensive replacement. That's just a waste. Ian Happ is the guy that we really need to see more of. Can he hit that high fastball now? If he cannot, then it's back to the minors until he learns to actually connect with it. With Albert Almora, sadly I think we know what we've got... a talented defensive centerfielder with no real bat. Albert should be our 4th or 5th outfielder at this point. Unless he ups his game this year, he won't even be worth the arbitration salary next winter. I'm excited about Steven Souza being here probably more than other fans. He's a solid right fielder with power in his bat. We're looking at probably a .245 hitter with excellent OBP, and a small amount of speed. As long as his knee holds up, this might be a potential leadoff hitter. On days when we see a Schwarber/Heyward/Souza outfield, there should be some runs scored. If Happ has actually overcome his problems, then the outfield will be a strength.
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Post by tehmpus on Feb 19, 2020 11:01:42 GMT -5
Per Bruce Levine, Kris Bryant will be the Cubs leadoff hitter for 2020. Kris Bryant confirms, he'll be leading off and he's embraced it. Wants to lead off. I fucking love it!!! I've been wanting KB to lea d off for the last 2 seasons.
1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Willy C 6. Heyward RF 7. Happ CF 8. Nico/Note/Descalso 2B 9. Pitcher
Lets go!!!!
Not exactly how I would do it, but if Bryant is leading off, I'd put a lineup in like this: 1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Bote 2nd 6. Contreras C 7. Heyward CF 8. pitcher 9. Souza RF Souza would be my sort of secondary leadoff guy potentially setting the table for Bryant. Heyward shifts to center to bolster the offense. I have Bote in more of a power spot with Willy and Heyward lower in the lineup to try to maximize their chances, and not put pressure on them.
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Post by skokiejoe on Feb 19, 2020 11:04:11 GMT -5
Per Bruce Levine, Kris Bryant will be the Cubs leadoff hitter for 2020. Kris Bryant confirms, he'll be leading off and he's embraced it. Wants to lead off. I fucking love it!!! I've been wanting KB to lea d off for the last 2 seasons.
1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Willy C 6. Heyward RF 7. Happ CF 8. Nico/Note/Descalso 2B 9. Pitcher
Lets go!!!!
I might flip Schwarber and Rizzo.
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Post by rvn11 on Feb 19, 2020 11:15:08 GMT -5
If Kipnis is healthy in ST I believe he will make the team and he would be a great bench guy to have & would be a great mentor to the younger guys. I still don't think 288 at bats above single A is nearly enough for NICO & couple that with the fact that if they keep him down a month & a half they get the extra year of control on our ONLY top 50 MILB prospect. Playing & hitting every day in AAA cannot possibly hurt his development so I see very little downside if any.. I disagree. My opinion hasn't changed. If they're ready... they should play. If they still have glaring flaws in their game... they should not be allowed to try to learn on the fly at the major league level. It shouldn't be about years of control and service time. I don't know if Nico is ready. Hopefully he gets a lot of ABs in spring training, and the team can evaluate him properly. I will say that top prospects shouldn't be called up, just to be bench warmers. If he earns a starting spot (and is ready), then he should start the year with the team. Don't keep him in the majors as a pinch hitter/defensive replacement. That's just a waste. Ian Happ is the guy that we really need to see more of. Can he hit that high fastball now? If he cannot, then it's back to the minors until he learns to actually connect with it. With Albert Almora, sadly I think we know what we've got... a talented defensive centerfielder with no real bat. Albert should be our 4th or 5th outfielder at this point. Unless he ups his game this year, he won't even be worth the arbitration salary next winter. I'm excited about Steven Souza being here probably more than other fans. He's a solid right fielder with power in his bat. We're looking at probably a .245 hitter with excellent OBP, and a small amount of speed. As long as his knee holds up, this might be a potential leadoff hitter. On days when we see a Schwarber/Heyward/Souza outfield, there should be some runs scored. If Happ has actually overcome his problems, then the outfield will be a strength. For what it's worth, Almora supposedly completely revamped his swing this offseason. We'll see if it actually produces results though...
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Post by fine09 on Feb 19, 2020 11:17:23 GMT -5
If Kipnis is healthy in ST I believe he will make the team and he would be a great bench guy to have & would be a great mentor to the younger guys. I still don't think 288 at bats above single A is nearly enough for NICO & couple that with the fact that if they keep him down a month & a half they get the extra year of control on our ONLY top 50 MILB prospect. Playing & hitting every day in AAA cannot possibly hurt his development so I see very little downside if any.. I disagree. My opinion hasn't changed. If they're ready... they should play. If they still have glaring flaws in their game... they should not be allowed to try to learn on the fly at the major league level. It shouldn't be about years of control and service time. I don't know if Nico is ready. Hopefully he gets a lot of ABs in spring training, and the team can evaluate him properly. I will say that top prospects shouldn't be called up, just to be bench warmers. If he earns a starting spot (and is ready), then he should start the year with the team. Don't keep him in the majors as a pinch hitter/defensive replacement. That's just a waste. Ian Happ is the guy that we really need to see more of. Can he hit that high fastball now? If he cannot, then it's back to the minors until he learns to actually connect with it. With Albert Almora, sadly I think we know what we've got... a talented defensive centerfielder with no real bat. Albert should be our 4th or 5th outfielder at this point. Unless he ups his game this year, he won't even be worth the arbitration salary next winter. I'm excited about Steven Souza being here probably more than other fans. He's a solid right fielder with power in his bat. We're looking at probably a .245 hitter with excellent OBP, and a small amount of speed. As long as his knee holds up, this might be a potential leadoff hitter. On days when we see a Schwarber/Heyward/Souza outfield, there should be some runs scored. If Happ has actually overcome his problems, then the outfield will be a strength. I understand where you are coming from & you are in the majority with your opinion. I just look at things a little differently than most from the business owners perspective & with one of their most important responsibilities being to make certain that they have a competitive sustainable product each & every year they must always keep the future in mind and value it much more than over the next 6 weeks.. I am also of the opinion that even if he does hit well against some of these guys in spring training (just ramping up & without the good breaking ball just yet) that is still not a reason to immediately make him the starting 2nd. baseman if others are also doing well. I hope Ian starts out well for us because we are really going to need him to step up this year if we hope to win. I believe Albert will hit better this year if he has been able to put most of that devastating situation with the child last year but that is much easier said than done so we will see. I hope that Souza is healthy & can help us as well & if everything falls into place we really can compete this year. I am ready once again for some Cubs baseball. Go Cubs!!
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Post by TheChico on Feb 19, 2020 11:20:04 GMT -5
Per Bruce Levine, Kris Bryant will be the Cubs leadoff hitter for 2020. Kris Bryant confirms, he'll be leading off and he's embraced it. Wants to lead off. I fucking love it!!! I've been wanting KB to lea d off for the last 2 seasons.
1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Willy C 6. Heyward RF 7. Happ CF 8. Nico/Note/Descalso 2B 9. Pitcher
Lets go!!!!
I LOVE IT TOO!!! This is a big deal and excited to finally see this happening, way overdue.
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Post by lu13cubbie on Feb 19, 2020 11:27:05 GMT -5
Bryant leading off will be great !!! I wouldn't set the 2nd spot in the order until the end of spring training though. Happ, Nico + the other 2nd baseman, and maybe even Heyward are the options I would look at for that spot in the order.
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Post by TheChico on Feb 19, 2020 11:35:04 GMT -5
My primary lineup guess:
Righties:
1. Bryant 3B 2. Javy SS 3. Rizzo 1B 4. Willy C 5. Schwarber LF 6. Happ CF 7. Heyward RF 8. Hoerner 2B
Lefties:
1. Bryant 3B 2. Javy SS 3. Rizzo 1B 4. Willy C 5. Schwarber lF 6. Souza RF 7. Almora CF 8. Hoerner 2B
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Post by cfin on Feb 19, 2020 11:56:43 GMT -5
Per Bruce Levine, Kris Bryant will be the Cubs leadoff hitter for 2020. Kris Bryant confirms, he'll be leading off and he's embraced it. Wants to lead off. I fucking love it!!! I've been wanting KB to lea d off for the last 2 seasons.
1. Bryant 3B 2. Rizzo 1B 3. Baez SS 4. Schwarber LF 5. Willy C 6. Heyward RF 7. Happ CF 8. Nico/Note/Descalso 2B 9. Pitcher
Lets go!!!!
You and me both, brother.
Bryant in the leadoff spot solves so many problem. Who actually gets set in the rest of the lineup, especially say the 2 through 6 spots is still up in the air. Schwarber batting 2nd makes some sense because he's probably more of an on-base guy than a run driving in guy, which allows Rizzo - who I would categorize as a run driving in guy - to bat further down in the lineup to potentially drive in more runs (with more people on base because Bryant and Schwarber are hitting a head of him). But Schwarber also tends to strikeout a lot, so putting Bryant and Rizzo 1 and 2 potentially gives you more on base when the 3, 4, and 5 hitters come up. So there's arguments either way.
I also would not be opposed to batting the pitcher 8th, so that Bryant could potentially have someone on base the next time the lineup rolls over.
I also like this because Bryant's going to play everyday. So if he's leading off, you know who your leadoff hitter is everyday. Unlike depending on 2B, CF, RF to leadoff... because you never know who is going to be playing those positions on any given day.
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Post by tehmpus on Feb 19, 2020 12:03:16 GMT -5
I disagree. My opinion hasn't changed. If they're ready... they should play. If they still have glaring flaws in their game... they should not be allowed to try to learn on the fly at the major league level. It shouldn't be about years of control and service time. I don't know if Nico is ready. Hopefully he gets a lot of ABs in spring training, and the team can evaluate him properly. I will say that top prospects shouldn't be called up, just to be bench warmers. If he earns a starting spot (and is ready), then he should start the year with the team. Don't keep him in the majors as a pinch hitter/defensive replacement. That's just a waste. Ian Happ is the guy that we really need to see more of. Can he hit that high fastball now? If he cannot, then it's back to the minors until he learns to actually connect with it. With Albert Almora, sadly I think we know what we've got... a talented defensive centerfielder with no real bat. Albert should be our 4th or 5th outfielder at this point. Unless he ups his game this year, he won't even be worth the arbitration salary next winter. I'm excited about Steven Souza being here probably more than other fans. He's a solid right fielder with power in his bat. We're looking at probably a .245 hitter with excellent OBP, and a small amount of speed. As long as his knee holds up, this might be a potential leadoff hitter. On days when we see a Schwarber/Heyward/Souza outfield, there should be some runs scored. If Happ has actually overcome his problems, then the outfield will be a strength. I understand where you are coming from & you are in the majority with your opinion. I just look at things a little differently than most from the business owners perspective & with one of their most important responsibilities being to make certain that they have a competitive sustainable product each & every year they must always keep the future in mind and value it much more than over the next 6 weeks.. I am also of the opinion that even if he does hit well against some of these guys in spring training (just ramping up & without the good breaking ball just yet) that is still not a reason to immediately make him the starting 2nd. baseman if others are also doing well. I hope Ian starts out well for us because we are really going to need him to step up this year if we hope to win. I believe Albert will hit better this year if he has been able to put most of that devastating situation with the child last year but that is much easier said than done so we will see. I hope that Souza is healthy & can help us as well & if everything falls into place we really can compete this year. I am ready once again for some Cubs baseball. Go Cubs!! From the employer's perspective, it's good to remember that young players periodically need to get sent down to the minors to work on stuff when they are seriously struggling, or even if the team just needs an extra pitcher or whatever for a week. I remember LaStella and many other young players having to shuttle back and forth to the minors periodically because they still had options. That affects service time. The only time they really come up and just stay up is when they are legit star type players. Also, if you treat your people right, they treat you right... and your organization gets a reputation for keeping their word, and being more classy. This is one of the reasons that Bryant lost his service time case. The Cubs don't have a history of keeping down prospects with the sole reason of manipulating service time. We can typically see a promising rookie get promoted at any point during the season. Other teams not only manipulate service time regularly, but also delay until the player misses out on the "Super2" arbitration deadline. Those are the cheapskate teams. So if Bryant made his case against a team that regularly pulled those shenanigans, he might have won because there would be a history of manipulation that couldn't just be considered a coincidence. Most people disagree with my opinion, but I believe that the Cubs intended for Mike Olt to be the 3rd baseman for at least his first 6 years with Bryant being moved to the outfield. Olt was superior to Bryant defensively at 3rd, and Bryant had the speed for outfield, but not enough experience out there to get the good routes. If Olt hadn't gotten injured, we would have seen a very different Cubs team these last several years. Imagine Bryant in centerfield. He would be sort of like a poor man's Mike Trout out there. But I'm not trying to start a discussion on this. I know most people disagree with my opinion, so let's just leave it at that. Good reputation also makes your team more attractive to free agents and such.
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Post by TheChico on Feb 19, 2020 12:06:35 GMT -5
Cubs leadoff spot was dead last year with a .294 OBP%. That is PATHETIC!!
Now will have a guy who has the ability to get on base at a 40% clip, Cubs could go from dead last to #1 in baseball in 2020.
Also Bryant's elite baseruning skills is going to play well there as well, he is going to be crossing home plate a ton this year.
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Post by tehmpus on Feb 19, 2020 12:08:44 GMT -5
Cubs leadoff spot was dead last year with a .294 OBP%. Now will have a guy who has the ability to get on base at a 40% clip, Cubs could go from dead last to #1 in baseball this year with the news. It's definitely important to have a guy on base before your power hitters. I hope they consider the pitcher in the 8 spot with an OBP guy like Souza hitting 9th, so that Bryant has some RBI opportunities as well.
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Post by rvn11 on Feb 19, 2020 12:10:32 GMT -5
Cubs leadoff spot was dead last year with a .294 OBP%. Now will have a guy who has the ability to get on base at a 40% clip, Cubs could go from dead last to #1 in baseball this year with the news. It's definitely important to have a guy on base before your power hitters. I hope they consider the pitcher in the 8 spot with an OBP guy like Souza hitting 9th, so that Bryant has some RBI opportunities as well. Was thinking the same thing. Have to do something to get KB some producing opportunities when they come back around.
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Post by tehmpus on Feb 19, 2020 12:12:10 GMT -5
It's definitely important to have a guy on base before your power hitters. I hope they consider the pitcher in the 8 spot with an OBP guy like Souza hitting 9th, so that Bryant has some RBI opportunities as well. Was thinking the same thing. Have to do something to get KB some producing opportunities when they come back around. Souza in right field most days with Heyward in center will add a lot of offense to this team (unless of course Ian Happ can hit like a stud).
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Post by batman66 on Feb 19, 2020 12:41:10 GMT -5
Cubs leadoff spot was dead last year with a .294 OBP%. That is PATHETIC!! Now will have a guy who has the ability to get on base at a 40% clip, Cubs could go from dead last to #1 in baseball in 2020. Also Bryant's elite baseruning skills is going to play well there as well, he is going to be crossing home plate a ton this year. Well since he seems to have a better ability to get on base than drive in runs this makes a lot of sense. I'm not one who buys the well he hit 2nd , it's not an RBI slot excuse for his moderate RBI totals. he had 223 pa's with men on 125 with them in scoring position and drove in 77 Schwarber had 217 pa's with men on 130 in scoring position and drove in 92
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Post by ddevonb on Feb 19, 2020 13:04:23 GMT -5
Was thinking the same thing. Have to do something to get KB some producing opportunities when they come back around. Souza in right field most days with Heyward in center will add a lot of offense to this team (unless of course Ian Happ can hit like a stud). Depending on how everyone does, we may look at it much differently coming out of ST. If Almora's new swing is effective and Happ hits well, they have to play. Both Happ and Sousa have a lot of positional flexibility so we could see them moved around to get ABs when resting other guys. Almora in CF and Heyward in RF is he best defense, but of course they need to hit. Sousa will have to be really good to start most games.
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Post by bbuck22 on Feb 19, 2020 14:09:21 GMT -5
Props to KB.He will do well there.
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Post by bbuck22 on Feb 19, 2020 14:16:10 GMT -5
Cubs leadoff spot was dead last year with a .294 OBP%. That is PATHETIC!! Now will have a guy who has the ability to get on base at a 40% clip, Cubs could go from dead last to #1 in baseball in 2020. Also Bryant's elite baseruning skills is going to play well there as well, he is going to be crossing home plate a ton this year. Just think that .294 includes Rizzo's obp at leadoff .500 for 12 games.Take those games away from that would even be more pathetic.
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Post by bbuck22 on Feb 19, 2020 14:17:56 GMT -5
Cant wait.Will be going to spring training March 11-18.
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