Well folks, it's that time of year again when sports writers from across the nation start to give their incorrect predictions on how they envision their favorite baseball team's season unfolding.
While I'm not that much different, I'm also a lot more accurate.
Last year, I wrote five bold predictions for the Chicago Cubs and I'm proud to say that four of the five were correct. I'm still a bit pissed that my "three-30 home run hitters" didn't come true due to the Schwarber injury but the fact that Addison Russell almost helped me go five for five by hitting 21 home runs last year made me feel a little bit better.
So since I hit it out of the park last year and they ended up winning it all, I feel obligated to step it up this year and give you my TEN bold predictions for the 2017 Chicago Cubs.
Let's hope my accuracy rate stays as high this year.
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The Chicago Cubs just won the World Series and the North Side is going crazy. (Photo courtesy of Fox Sports)[/caption]
It's strange to think that this years team could possibly be BETTER than the 2016 World Series team but there are too many signs to ignore. The addition of lefty Brett Anderson, Albert Almora Jr. potentially filling Dexter Fowler's void, and Jason Heyward's ability to not suck all lead to the Cubs improving on their 103 wins last season.
Also, you have to take into consideration that Cincinnati and Milwaukee are both absolutely atrocious, Pittsburgh is trending down, and the Cubs have seemingly owned the St. Louis Cardinals the past few seasons which leads to a LOT of potential W's for the Cubs in the NL Central.
Granted, the Cubs will have to stay as healthy as they did last year but if that's the case, I see no reason why they should not improve their win total by AT LEAST seven from last year.
Take a deep breath Cubs fans, don't curse me out yet.
Nobody can deny the fact that the Cubs 184-million dollar man was a complete bust at the plate last season. He had career lows in damn near every offensive category and finished out 2016 slashing .230/.306/.631 which led to MANY Cubs fans calling for the team to bench their big name free agent signing.
Heyward completely revamped his swing immediately following the 2016 season and fans are waiting on edge to see if the results will follow. If his numbers in Spring Training are any indication that we'll see improvement -- don't hold your breath.
He only hit .157 in Spring Training but the optimist in me says it's Spring Training, so until he continues to struggle when the regular season starts, I'm optimistic we will see a comeback season for Heyward.
I hope.
Ok, this prediction may be a bit hard to track but if last year was any indication of what we'll see from Javy, I may need to increase that 40 to something higher. He emerged late in the season with both his bat and his glove and turned into one of the most important players during the Cubs postseason run, eventually earning co-NLCS MVPs.
He hit .273 last season and showed great improvement with his patience at the plate. Mind you, he was splitting time most of the first half of the season with Ben Zobrist so you have to take that into consideration when you're looking at his 2016 numbers.
His dazzling tags, daring base running, and overall swagger on defense has landed him a permanent place in the Cubs lineup for 2017. He'll remain one of the most versatile players on the Cubs roster so Joe Maddon can plug him into any spot on the field and he'll continue to dazzle us like only Javy can.
The experiment I'm referring to is when Cubs manager Joe Maddon declared that he would bat the burly left fielder as his lead-off hitter for the 2017 campaign. On paper, Schwarber fits the bill as a great lead-off hitter if you judge him from his OBP.
From looking at only two small sample sizes, the numbers don't lie that Schwarber can get on base. During a shortened 2015 season, he finished third on the team getting on base at a .355 clip and from the 2016 postseason his OBP was a staggering .500. The problem is, we've yet to see what he can do in a full season.
The Cubs will have to take into consideration his restructured knee, the possibility of him catching some innings, and just the overall idea of his body getting used to playing in his first full MLB season that at some point, they'll have to bump him down in the lineup. Besides, moving him down in the lineup will add protection for any hitter of your choosing.
Add to that, Albert Almora Jr. is on the cusp of having a breakout year and being the Cubs new table setter by June.
I really hope I'm wrong about this prediction because I'm a huge fan of Ian Happ. He tore up Spring Training hitting .411 with 5 bombs and 20 RBIs and an astounding 1.272 OPS.
Needless to say he had a good Spring.
However, it appears Happ will be the next young Cub to not have a place on an already loaded team (think Dan Vogelbach). Unless he makes a switch to the outfield, there appears to be no room for Happ in the Cubs middle infield with Baez, Russell, Zobrist already firmly holding down spots. Barring any catastrophic injury the current Cubs infield, Happ appears a perfect candidate to be packaged at the trade deadline later on this year (probably for a power arm.)
Man I hope I'm wrong on this one.
If you recall, the Cubs were represented by seven All-Stars in the 2016 mid-Summer classic which was highlighted by the entire Cubs infield being selected starters in the game. That was only the second time in history in which that occurred.
Everyone knows how Cubs fans fill the voting boxes and when you pair that with the fact that they are the defending World Series champions, Cubs fans will be ready to vote in damn near anybody they want.
Even if the Cubs struggle through the first half of the season (which they won't), fans will still try and get as many Cubs on the NL All-Star roster. I envision a great first half for the Cubs which will fire up the fan base (like last year) which should result in a record eight Cubs getting selected to the All-Star game.
My way too early predictions for 2017 Cubs All-Stars: Bryant, Rizzo, Russell, Baez, Hendricks, Lester, Contreras, and Schwarber.
You call it crazy. I call it wishful thinking.
Hendricks was a finalist for the 2016 CY Young after an outstanding season and 2017 sets up to be his best season yet. He finished 2016 16-8 with a microscopic ERA of 2.13 and an even smaller WHIP of .98. Even though the CY Young voters did not give him the award, the players in the NL recognized his dominance when they voted Hendricks as the Most Outstanding NL Pitcher during the Player Choice Awards last year.
Only in the Cubs organization can you lead the league in ERA and still be the fifth starter on your team as Hendricks found out about a week ago. The reason given was the Cubs wanted to break the staff up between right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers and with the newly acquired lefty Brett Anderson getting the nod as a starter, Hendricks was bumped to fifth to break up the two lefties in the rotation (Lester and Anderson).
The silver lining of Hendricks pitching fifth is that spot in the rotation will allow him to face the opposing team's fifth starter (most of the time). The potent Cubs offense should have a field day with another team's number five pitcher so putting up runs should never be a problem during any of Hendricks' starts this season.
If he can replicate his 2016 numbers and follow through on the wish of his manager to reach 200 innings for the first time in his career, there could be a very pretty award waiting for Hendricks at the end of the season.
Something about this year makes me believe that it'll be a signature season for the Cubs version of the steroid-less "bash brothers," better known as Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.
I'm predicting that they will combine for at least 85 home runs and 220 RBIs as a pair which would be an increase of fourteen home runs and nine RBIs respectively. (Bryant 39/102, Rizzo 32/109).
Both players set career highs in RBIs last season and with pretty much the same lineup in tact, it'll be hard to pitch around either one. In Bryant's case, if Maddon keeps him in the two hole in front of Schwarber, you can definitely expect to see an increase due to Schwarber's high OBP.
Either way, the two sluggers should continue to have a field day with National League pitching.
Bryant would become the first player since 2008-2009 to win the NL MVP award in back to back years when Albert Pujols did it with the St. Louis Cardinals. Bryant had career years in literally every offensive category you can think of (besides triples) in 2016 and he vowed to get even better in 2017.
He made it known this off-season that even though he won the award, there was still a lot of work to do to make him an even better player.
If that doesn't terrify you, it should.
He's stated numerous times that he noticed the amount of change ups he saw rose drastically last season so he's worked hard this off-season to be able to take those pitches to the opposite field.
I see at least a ten point increase to his average and another boost to his power totals (see number 3 on this list.)
Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester holds the Commissioners Trophy as he celebrates with teammates during a celebration honoring the World Series champions at Grant Park in Chicago, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)[/caption]
You had to know this was coming right?
I predicted last season that the Cubs would break their 108-year streak and win their first World Series championship in over a century and that came true so why not predict that they'll go back to back?
Of course, history is against them again.
The last team to repeat as World Champions were the New York Yankees from 1998-2000. If any team is up to making history, it's got to be the Cubs.
One good thing is the fact they are the first team to ever repeat as World Series champions when they did it in 1907-1908 so my thoughts are if they did it in 1907-1908, why can't they do it in 2016-2017?
And before you're quick to laugh at my prediction, how many people laughed at me when I said they'd win it all last year?
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I'll be checking in throughout the season to see if I can continue my outstanding accuracy rate.
10. The Cubs Will Win + 110
[caption id="attachment_79876" align="aligncenter" width="770"] The Chicago Cubs just won the World Series and the North Side is going crazy. (Photo courtesy of Fox Sports)[/caption]
It's strange to think that this years team could possibly be BETTER than the 2016 World Series team but there are too many signs to ignore. The addition of lefty Brett Anderson, Albert Almora Jr. potentially filling Dexter Fowler's void, and Jason Heyward's ability to not suck all lead to the Cubs improving on their 103 wins last season.
Also, you have to take into consideration that Cincinnati and Milwaukee are both absolutely atrocious, Pittsburgh is trending down, and the Cubs have seemingly owned the St. Louis Cardinals the past few seasons which leads to a LOT of potential W's for the Cubs in the NL Central.
Granted, the Cubs will have to stay as healthy as they did last year but if that's the case, I see no reason why they should not improve their win total by AT LEAST seven from last year.
9. Jason Heyward Will Hit Over .275
Take a deep breath Cubs fans, don't curse me out yet.
Nobody can deny the fact that the Cubs 184-million dollar man was a complete bust at the plate last season. He had career lows in damn near every offensive category and finished out 2016 slashing .230/.306/.631 which led to MANY Cubs fans calling for the team to bench their big name free agent signing.
Heyward completely revamped his swing immediately following the 2016 season and fans are waiting on edge to see if the results will follow. If his numbers in Spring Training are any indication that we'll see improvement -- don't hold your breath.
He only hit .157 in Spring Training but the optimist in me says it's Spring Training, so until he continues to struggle when the regular season starts, I'm optimistic we will see a comeback season for Heyward.
I hope.
8. Javier Baez Will Make You Say, "Wow" At Least 40 Times This Year
Ok, this prediction may be a bit hard to track but if last year was any indication of what we'll see from Javy, I may need to increase that 40 to something higher. He emerged late in the season with both his bat and his glove and turned into one of the most important players during the Cubs postseason run, eventually earning co-NLCS MVPs.
He hit .273 last season and showed great improvement with his patience at the plate. Mind you, he was splitting time most of the first half of the season with Ben Zobrist so you have to take that into consideration when you're looking at his 2016 numbers.
His dazzling tags, daring base running, and overall swagger on defense has landed him a permanent place in the Cubs lineup for 2017. He'll remain one of the most versatile players on the Cubs roster so Joe Maddon can plug him into any spot on the field and he'll continue to dazzle us like only Javy can.
7. The "Schwarber Experiment" Ends By June 1
The experiment I'm referring to is when Cubs manager Joe Maddon declared that he would bat the burly left fielder as his lead-off hitter for the 2017 campaign. On paper, Schwarber fits the bill as a great lead-off hitter if you judge him from his OBP.
From looking at only two small sample sizes, the numbers don't lie that Schwarber can get on base. During a shortened 2015 season, he finished third on the team getting on base at a .355 clip and from the 2016 postseason his OBP was a staggering .500. The problem is, we've yet to see what he can do in a full season.
The Cubs will have to take into consideration his restructured knee, the possibility of him catching some innings, and just the overall idea of his body getting used to playing in his first full MLB season that at some point, they'll have to bump him down in the lineup. Besides, moving him down in the lineup will add protection for any hitter of your choosing.
Add to that, Albert Almora Jr. is on the cusp of having a breakout year and being the Cubs new table setter by June.
6. Ian Happ Gets Traded
I really hope I'm wrong about this prediction because I'm a huge fan of Ian Happ. He tore up Spring Training hitting .411 with 5 bombs and 20 RBIs and an astounding 1.272 OPS.
Needless to say he had a good Spring.
However, it appears Happ will be the next young Cub to not have a place on an already loaded team (think Dan Vogelbach). Unless he makes a switch to the outfield, there appears to be no room for Happ in the Cubs middle infield with Baez, Russell, Zobrist already firmly holding down spots. Barring any catastrophic injury the current Cubs infield, Happ appears a perfect candidate to be packaged at the trade deadline later on this year (probably for a power arm.)
Man I hope I'm wrong on this one.
5. The Cubs Will Have Eight All-Stars
If you recall, the Cubs were represented by seven All-Stars in the 2016 mid-Summer classic which was highlighted by the entire Cubs infield being selected starters in the game. That was only the second time in history in which that occurred.
Everyone knows how Cubs fans fill the voting boxes and when you pair that with the fact that they are the defending World Series champions, Cubs fans will be ready to vote in damn near anybody they want.
Even if the Cubs struggle through the first half of the season (which they won't), fans will still try and get as many Cubs on the NL All-Star roster. I envision a great first half for the Cubs which will fire up the fan base (like last year) which should result in a record eight Cubs getting selected to the All-Star game.
My way too early predictions for 2017 Cubs All-Stars: Bryant, Rizzo, Russell, Baez, Hendricks, Lester, Contreras, and Schwarber.
You call it crazy. I call it wishful thinking.
4. Kyle Hendricks Wins The NL CY Young Award
Hendricks was a finalist for the 2016 CY Young after an outstanding season and 2017 sets up to be his best season yet. He finished 2016 16-8 with a microscopic ERA of 2.13 and an even smaller WHIP of .98. Even though the CY Young voters did not give him the award, the players in the NL recognized his dominance when they voted Hendricks as the Most Outstanding NL Pitcher during the Player Choice Awards last year.
Only in the Cubs organization can you lead the league in ERA and still be the fifth starter on your team as Hendricks found out about a week ago. The reason given was the Cubs wanted to break the staff up between right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers and with the newly acquired lefty Brett Anderson getting the nod as a starter, Hendricks was bumped to fifth to break up the two lefties in the rotation (Lester and Anderson).
The silver lining of Hendricks pitching fifth is that spot in the rotation will allow him to face the opposing team's fifth starter (most of the time). The potent Cubs offense should have a field day with another team's number five pitcher so putting up runs should never be a problem during any of Hendricks' starts this season.
If he can replicate his 2016 numbers and follow through on the wish of his manager to reach 200 innings for the first time in his career, there could be a very pretty award waiting for Hendricks at the end of the season.
3. 85-220
Something about this year makes me believe that it'll be a signature season for the Cubs version of the steroid-less "bash brothers," better known as Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.
I'm predicting that they will combine for at least 85 home runs and 220 RBIs as a pair which would be an increase of fourteen home runs and nine RBIs respectively. (Bryant 39/102, Rizzo 32/109).
Both players set career highs in RBIs last season and with pretty much the same lineup in tact, it'll be hard to pitch around either one. In Bryant's case, if Maddon keeps him in the two hole in front of Schwarber, you can definitely expect to see an increase due to Schwarber's high OBP.
Either way, the two sluggers should continue to have a field day with National League pitching.
2. KB MVP x2
Bryant would become the first player since 2008-2009 to win the NL MVP award in back to back years when Albert Pujols did it with the St. Louis Cardinals. Bryant had career years in literally every offensive category you can think of (besides triples) in 2016 and he vowed to get even better in 2017.
He made it known this off-season that even though he won the award, there was still a lot of work to do to make him an even better player.
If that doesn't terrify you, it should.
He's stated numerous times that he noticed the amount of change ups he saw rose drastically last season so he's worked hard this off-season to be able to take those pitches to the opposite field.
I see at least a ten point increase to his average and another boost to his power totals (see number 3 on this list.)
1. Repeat
[caption id="attachment_83090" align="alignnone" width="682"] Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester holds the Commissioners Trophy as he celebrates with teammates during a celebration honoring the World Series champions at Grant Park in Chicago, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)[/caption]
You had to know this was coming right?
I predicted last season that the Cubs would break their 108-year streak and win their first World Series championship in over a century and that came true so why not predict that they'll go back to back?
Of course, history is against them again.
The last team to repeat as World Champions were the New York Yankees from 1998-2000. If any team is up to making history, it's got to be the Cubs.
One good thing is the fact they are the first team to ever repeat as World Series champions when they did it in 1907-1908 so my thoughts are if they did it in 1907-1908, why can't they do it in 2016-2017?
And before you're quick to laugh at my prediction, how many people laughed at me when I said they'd win it all last year?
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I'll be checking in throughout the season to see if I can continue my outstanding accuracy rate.
