Perfect Cubs Lineup
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
The Chicago Cubs have been playing quality baseball of late, with a lot of great players. But their lineup construction is a bit of a mess. This is most apparent in their 4-3 loss to the Mets on August 9. It was the top of the ninth inning, the last opportunity for the Cubs to score. The bases were loaded and Ian Happ was up to bat, he ended striking out, with Cody Bellinger, the Cubs’ undeniable best hitter, up to bat.
Happ is the three hole hitter, but he doesn’t fit the profile for one. Happ has a .241 batting average with a .772 OPS, with a .405 slugging percentage. He doesn’t have a ton of power; he is mostly a doubles hitter. But he gets on base with a .367 on base percentage. He is one of the top players in walks and while that is useful for the top or even the bottom of the order, they should not be batting third.
The type of hitting you want to be hitting third is one that gets hits and has the power to take them out of the ballpark. Cody Bellinger had a .327 batting average, .377 on base percentage, and a .550 slugging percentage. Bellinger is the type of player the Cubs need in those big moments, the guy who both gets on base, hits the ball, and hits it hard. That 4-3 loss could be very different if Bellinger was up to bat with the bases loaded. And power hitters should be hitting cleanup, but not at the cost of giving your best hitter the most at-bats.
To make the lineup even stronger, the hitters need to be evaluated for how they can contribute best and if the Cubs want to keep winning, they need to put the best 9 out there every day.
The top Cubs lineup should look like….
M. Tauchman RF
N. Hoerner 2B
C. Bellinger CF
J. Candelario 1B
D. Swanson SS
C. Morel DH
I. Happ LF
Y. Gomes C
N. Madrigal
This plays into each of the Cubs’ strengths and allows them to succeed where they need to. It puts together the best hitters and strongest defensive lineup. And these hitters can be switched out on rest days, but Manager David Ross needs to consider analyzing his players more to offer the best opportunity to succeed in big moments.
