Im looking forward to this season more then i did last year...
Guys like Bryant Baez Russell Contreras with another full year of maturing and developing under their belt...
Schwarber spent the off season getting in great shape and hopefully we will see him take that next level..
Rizzo gonna be Rizzo....
Heyward hopefully improves under Chili Davis eyes..
Really excited to see Almora get his shot in CF..
Happ getting a full year being that 10th guy off the bench...
Rotation has new blood with Darvish and Chatwood..
Full year of Quintana who should be ready and more prepared to take on the NL..
Healthy Hendricks...
Lester just needs to be Lester..
Bullpen has some new arms and hopefully will go into the season with a chip on their shoulders to improve from last year..
Love to see them start out fast in their first 10 games on road , expect 7 or 8 wins against beatable teams at start...
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I’ll give a early take: who excels at lead off will dictate playing time.
The bubble guys here are Happ, Zobrist, Almora and Schwarber.
Happ: probley the ideal lead off overall. SH and takes walks. HR power with a swing that creates loft. Can cover many spots so could lead off and fill many roles.
Almora: heavy split guy that is lucky to get 6% BB rate. He is more of a old school player hitting behind a base stealer where his high contact rate plays into hit and run situations. Unfortunately that play style went with the strike. I still see him as a 4th OF. Nothing against him at all but he is the square peg.
Schwarber: the love this guy and he looks amped to make a brake out. Honestly he could be the lead off and be fine but I see him better served batting #5 inbetween Contreras and Russell vs Heyward.
Zobrist: 130 games should be his max this year and that includes partial games. He has been too injury prone in his tenure to be relied upon in a everyday capacity. Not to mention they are worse with him on the line up with a superior player benched. I honestly see him used as a platoon guy in left if Schwarber struggles vs them and freeing up Baez at 2B as needed.
That is my gut feel on the team right now. Most other issues are very low impact right now that they are not worth stressing over.
Line up should change frequently but a typical day:
Happ CF
Bryant 3B
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Russell SS
Heyward RF
Baez 2B
That is where the team should find the best mix in general. Happ is pretty underrated as a CF and it leaves late inning D switch with Almora.
No my biggest issue with Almora is he is a platoon player with a low walk rate. If his D was league Avg he wouldn’t be in the conversation.
You put him on a team like KC that plays small ball contact he excels vs Theo’s OBA philosophy