Who's Going To Be The Cubs Leadoff Hitter In 2019? Fans May Not Like Joe Maddon's Answer

Dexter Fowler was a steady and stabilizing presence leading off for the Cubs in his two seasons with the team, including a career year in 2016 when they won the World Series. You could always count on him at the top of the batting order, but he's been in boring St. Louis for two years and Joe Maddon's had a revolving door at the leadoff spot since Fowler's departure. But what about 2019? Who's going to be the Cubs leadoff hitter? It's finally going to be one set guy, right? Nope At the start of this past weekend's Cubs convention, Maddon was asked about the leadoff hitter and if you haven't been a fan of the mixing and matching Maddon's done at the top of the order since Fowler left for the Cardinals, then you're not going to be happy with his answer. It's going to be more of the same.

In 2016, Fowler's last year with the Cubs, the team had a .381 OBP leading off. The following season it took a huge dip, as the offense got off to a sluggish start in 2017. That year the Cubs only posted a .324 OBP, which ranked 18th in MLB. Maddon is correct by saying the Cubs have been able to piece it together since Fowler signed with the Cardinals, especially in 2018. We all remember the terrible last couple months, but the Cubs were one of the best offenses through the All-Star break. Overall in 2018, the Cubs leadoff hitters had a .366 OBP, ranking only behind the Red Sox in all of baseball. That was with a whole bunch of guys taking the role of the leadoff hitter. And without any major additions to the team, Maddon has basically the same roster and options to mix and match with at the leadoff position. Fans may not like the constant change, but the reality is the Cubs simply don't have that one guy who can leadoff every day. Albert Almora Jr. is great against left-handed pitching, but he just haven't proven he can hit right-handers. So, that rules him out getting the every day reps batting first. Ben Zobrist might be the best option because he has a great eye at the plate, takes his walks and can still hit for a decent average. The days of having a speedy leadoff hitter are gone and at this point you just want guys who can reach base at a high clip. As we saw at the start of 2018, just because one guy gets the first shot at the leadoff spot doesn't mean he's going to stick around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3fbE8qkwSc Hey, Ian Happ did end up with a decent .353 OBP in 2018. He'll probably get another look at leadoff again in 2019, along with a few other guys.