Kris Bryant to lead off

SilenceS

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I wonder if Ross like lefty, righty or he doesnt care.

Could go

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarbs

or switch out Rizzo and Schwarbs.
 

FarFromOut7

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I wonder if Ross like lefty, righty or he doesnt care.

Could go

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarbs

or switch out Rizzo and Schwarbs.

My prediction for opening day l/u
KB 3B
Kipnis 2B
Javy SS
Rizz 1B
Schwarber LF
Willy C
Happer CF
JHey RF
P

Fingers crossed ?? on Kipnis
 

CSF77

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He lead off in college. So this is not a stretch at all.

If I had to guess Ross is thinking Heyward hitting #2.

So

Bryant
Heyward
Baez
Rizzo
Contreras
Schwarber

Then I would expect 2B and CF in a platoon situation with Almora/Happ in center and Bote and either Kip or Descalso at 2B.

Over all based off of last year it should go
Schwarber
Bote
Happ

For the majority of the first 1/2.


But I just see this as they are pushing up Bryant's PA's to build up trade value.
 

SilenceS

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He lead off in college. So this is not a stretch at all.

If I had to guess Ross is thinking Heyward hitting #2.

So

Bryant
Heyward
Baez
Rizzo
Contreras
Schwarber

Then I would expect 2B and CF in a platoon situation with Almora/Happ in center and Bote and either Kip or Descalso at 2B.

Over all based off of last year it should go
Schwarber
Bote
Happ

For the majority of the first 1/2.


But I just see this as they are pushing up Bryant's PA's to build up trade value.
I don’t think it has anything to do with trade value. It has to do with oba and he is the best base runner on the team. He ranked 78th percentile in sprint speed last year. He is over looked on his speed. Cubs aren’t going to steal bases. It’s putting the most guys on base for schwarbs and Baez
 

greg23

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Vs RHP

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarber
Contreras
Heyward
Happ
Kipnis/Descalso
Pitcher

Personally I may move up kipnis/descalso; bat the pitcher 8th and put happ 9th as he does take walks giving Bryant chances with people on base and rizzo behind him.
 

CSF77

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I don’t think it has anything to do with trade value. It has to do with oba and he is the best base runner on the team. He ranked 78th percentile in sprint speed last year. He is over looked on his speed. Cubs aren’t going to steal bases. It’s putting the most guys on base for schwarbs and Baez


It is not a dumb idea at all. But maxing out his PA's this year is only going to increase his trade value. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that the writing is on the wall with him and it is more when than if.

That said I see this year as a value builder and to trade him this off-season. Mookie's value was fine leading off and all it does is increase PA's.
 

CSF77

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Vs RHP

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarber
Contreras
Heyward
Happ
Kipnis/Descalso
Pitcher

Personally I may move up kipnis/descalso; bat the pitcher 8th and put happ 9th as he does take walks giving Bryant chances with people on base and rizzo behind him.

I doubt that they will have a platoon scenerio.

I see it as a over all line up.

Stacking Bryant Rizzo etc at the front kills the line up. You are basically giving away 4 outs at the bottom.

Pushing Heyward to the 2 increases his PA's while protecting him between their best 2 hitters. Thus increasing his value. Now I doubt that he ever gets traded but to set him up to succeed is never a dumb idea because he has been a 5 WAR player and he is not over the hill by any means.

That said running Schwarber, Bote, Happ pushes 3 guys that push .330+ OBA and can be moved into scoring by the pitcher giving Bryant RBI opertunites.
 

knoxville7

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Really tired of having guys that are home run hitters, hit leadoff. I hate seeing a guy with 30+ homers and under 80rbi. It’s just a waste of run production IMO. Let him hit 4th and drive in 120. Sad what they turn to because they still haven’t been able to find a decent leadoff hitter since Fowler
 

greg23

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Really tired of having guys that are home run hitters, hit leadoff. I hate seeing a guy with 30+ homers and under 80rbi. It’s just a waste of run production IMO. Let him hit 4th and drive in 120. Sad what they turn to because they still haven’t been able to find a decent leadoff hitter since Fowler

Is there a difference between hitting hr in the 4th spot with nobody on base vs hitting them in the leadoff spot with nobody on base?

The fact is the two guys who get on at the highest rate are bryant and rizzo.....we have plenty of power guys behind them (Baez-schwarber-contreras) who dont get on as much.

Ideally there would be a left handed hitting cf who gets on base a ton hitting leadoff but that guy doesnt exist on the roster right now (not much in baseball)

So Bryant/Rizzo is the best 1-2 combo for now
 

knoxville7

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Is there a difference between hitting hr in the 4th spot with nobody on base vs hitting them in the leadoff spot with nobody on base?

The fact is the two guys who get on at the highest rate are bryant and rizzo.....we have plenty of power guys behind them (Baez-schwarber-contreras) who dont get on as much.

Ideally there would be a left handed hitting cf who gets on base a ton hitting leadoff but that guy doesnt exist on the roster right now (not much in baseball)

So Bryant/Rizzo is the best 1-2 combo for now

Your argument is flawed at best. To argue what’s the difference between hitting a hr batting first with nobody on or 4th with nobody on assumes that Bryant will see the bases empty the same amount no matter which spot he hits.

Sure, it’s just the first time thru the lineup, after that it’s all random. But, 1 AB is roughly 20-25% of at bats. Not to mention he would be coming to bat after the pitcher and worst hitter on the team, further limiting the runners on base for him. That’s a significant chunk of at bats that you are guaranteed to hit with nobody on base. That’s just silly IMO to limit the runners on base when Bryant comes to hit.

I acknowledged that this is being done because of the lack of options. I’m simply stating that I don’t like it and I wish the cubs would actually make a move to get a legit leadoff hitter to allow Bryant to hit in a spot much more in line with his abilities.
 

Castor76

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Your argument is flawed at best. To argue what’s the difference between hitting a hr batting first with nobody on or 4th with nobody on assumes that Bryant will see the bases empty the same amount no matter which spot he hits.

Sure, it’s just the first time thru the lineup, after that it’s all random. But, 1 AB is roughly 20-25% of at bats. Not to mention he would be coming to bat after the pitcher and worst hitter on the team, further limiting the runners on base for him. That’s a significant chunk of at bats that you are guaranteed to hit with nobody on base. That’s just silly IMO to limit the runners on base when Bryant comes to hit.

I acknowledged that this is being done because of the lack of options. I’m simply stating that I don’t like it and I wish the cubs would actually make a move to get a legit leadoff hitter to allow Bryant to hit in a spot much more in line with his abilities.

And how many moves could really be made? Plus, why make that move?

The last 3 seasons have shown that Bryant would be better serving the team batting leadoff versus being in an RBI spot. Last 3 seasons, with 310 AB of RISP, his line is only .255/.378/.468. Compare that to a slash line of .282/.386/.511 with none on and .297/,401/.555 when leading off in 861 and 263 ABs respectively.
 

anotheridiot

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He lead off in college. So this is not a stretch at all.

If I had to guess Ross is thinking Heyward hitting #2.

So

Bryant
Heyward
Baez
Rizzo
Contreras
Schwarber

Then I would expect 2B and CF in a platoon situation with Almora/Happ in center and Bote and either Kip or Descalso at 2B.

Over all based off of last year it should go
Schwarber
Bote
Happ

For the majority of the first 1/2.


But I just see this as they are pushing up Bryant's PA's to build up trade value.

First half of the first year hear, Heyward batted 2nd and blew the billy goat. Too much pressure. We have been thru this already.
 

SilenceS

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Seems I was right with Ross thinking.

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarbs
Contreras
Heyward/Happ

as your 1 through 6

 

kerrywoodwins20

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First half of the first year hear, Heyward batted 2nd and blew the billy goat. Too much pressure. We have been thru this already.

Heyward is one of the worst playoff hitters ever. Literally ever. So I don’t get why people don’t understand he needs to limited as much as possible at the plate. Guy has like one big hit in May and people think he’s clutch or something.

He needs a shrink. He’s choking the bat to death to the point where his wrists are overlapping. Will never have more than a good week or two until he fixes that.
 
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SilenceS

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Heyward is one of the worst playoff hitters ever. Literally ever. So I don’t get why people don’t understand he needs to limited as much as possible at the plate. Guy has like one big hit in May and people think he’s clutch or something.
Man oh man
 

CSF77

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Seems I was right with Ross thinking.

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarbs
Contreras
Heyward/Happ

as your 1 through 6



I think you are reading into it too much.

So, is Rizzo the No. 2 hitter?

"Maybe," Ross said with a laugh.

The manager also said he values alternating the handedness of his hitters, if possible. So, reading between the lines, that means Bryant, Rizzo, Javier Báez, Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Heyward could form the Nos. 1-6 portion of the batting order. Ross reminded that he has a number of ways he could go with the lineup.

"You want to put those at-bats as close to the top," Ross said of Bryant and Rizzo. "And then you start to think about some sluggers behind those two at the top. ... If we start talking about it and thinking about it, we've got that set. You know what I mean? It just feels like a dynamic lineup as it starts playing out."

Ross said another factor behind this decision is the reality that the Cubs' offense did not get the most out of a slew of great individual seasons in '19. The manager wanted to "do something different" to maybe breathe some life into the lineup, and the fact that Bryant was all-in with the concept made it easy on Ross.

"Kris Bryant is a really good at-bat, gets on base," Ross said. "His baseball IQ is extremely high. So, when you talk about putting the best players in baseball at the top of the order, I think that's our best player, and I want to put him at the top."
 

SilenceS

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I think you are reading into it too much.

So, is Rizzo the No. 2 hitter?

"Maybe," Ross said with a laugh.

The manager also said he values alternating the handedness of his hitters, if possible. So, reading between the lines, that means Bryant, Rizzo, Javier Báez, Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Heyward could form the Nos. 1-6 portion of the batting order. Ross reminded that he has a number of ways he could go with the lineup.

"You want to put those at-bats as close to the top," Ross said of Bryant and Rizzo. "And then you start to think about some sluggers behind those two at the top. ... If we start talking about it and thinking about it, we've got that set. You know what I mean? It just feels like a dynamic lineup as it starts playing out."

Ross said another factor behind this decision is the reality that the Cubs' offense did not get the most out of a slew of great individual seasons in '19. The manager wanted to "do something different" to maybe breathe some life into the lineup, and the fact that Bryant was all-in with the concept made it easy on Ross.

"Kris Bryant is a really good at-bat, gets on base," Ross said. "His baseball IQ is extremely high. So, when you talk about putting the best players in baseball at the top of the order, I think that's our best player, and I want to put him at the top."
No, Rizzo was told he is the number 2 hitter.

 

SilenceS

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So, I would pencil in

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Schwarbs
Contreras/Caratini

Then its going to get a little muddled depending on who is playing.
 

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