Friday's lineup offers a glimpse of the Cubs' strategy against lefties, featuring a heavy right-handed attack and key lineup decisions for the season.
Spring Training is a prime opportunity for players to get into a rhythm at the plate.
After a long offseason, these Spring Training games are a great way for many players to get back into the swing of things. Some players are working on things while others are trying to get into a groove offensively.
So, most of the time, fans should take Spring Training games with a grain of salt. These games don’t actually matter for a lot of veteran players, and the results of winning or losing don’t matter. Players are consistently in and out of the lineup.
Through the first week of Spring Training games, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has thrown together a bunch of random lineups. In each of the team’s first seven games, there was a solid mix of Major and Minor League players in the lineup.
However, Counsell switched things up ahead of Friday’s Spring Training game against the Cleveland Guardians. He opted to start all Major Leaguers in the team’s eighth game of the spring, a sign of what this lineup could look like this season.
Here’s how the Cubs lined up against Cleveland:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Alex Bregman, 3B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Matt Shaw, RF
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Miguel Amaya, C
- Dylan Carlson, DH
With the Guardians throwing out left-hander Logan Allen, the Cubs went right-handed heavy at the top of the order. That was the case last year and should be the case again this year.
Hoerner was the team’s primary leadoff hitter toward the end of last season when a left-hander started. Bregman has hit in the No. 2 hole all of spring, and Counsell seems to like Happ in that No. 3 hole.
The only thing missing from Friday’s lineup is Seiya Suzuki, who is currently overseas with Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic. However, he figures to be the designated hitter and hit fourth in the order in this scenario.
That would drop everyone else down one spot in the lineup and kick Carlson to a bench role. Seeing Busch and Crow-Armstrong then hit sixth and eighth, respectively, against left-handed pitchers isn’t a surprise.
Friday’s lineup is the closest thing to how the Cubs will line up against left-handed pitching this season. Hoerner will hit lead off, Shaw will start over Moises Ballesteros, and Busch will certainly move down in the order.
The lineup order will switch a bit when a right-hander is on the mound, but this could be how the Cubs line up against southpaws to begin the year.