Chicago Cubs’ future looks bright starting now
This October, the writing will be on the wall. The fans will have seen their favorite baseball club complete their 162 game schedule. The team that has made the most significant improvement, after years of abysmal seasons, would have to be the boys from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. That team, of course, is the Chicago Cubs.
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The jury is still deliberating on how the Cubs have managed their roster. However the season plays out, the 2015 Chicago Cubs are in a position to create something special. Chicago fans are probably praying at their bed side each night that owner Thomas S. Ricketts breaks the Curse of the Billy Goat. Fans should be rallying behind President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, the real builder of this strong roster.
Epstein has already been anointed a messiah GM from his time in Boston. The Red Sox last won the World Series in 1918 before Epstein came along. He crafted a franchise that broke the even more notorious Curse of the Bambino by winning it all in the 2004 and 2007 World Series. Now Epstein has taken his horse shoe to Chicago with the hopes of ending 107 years of futility for the Cubbies.
The Chicago Cubs have moved, in a very short amount of time, to a team with a lot of young talent. Two months into the 2015 season they have turned some heads within the National League Central. Third baseman Kris Bryant is finally featuring his big league swing in the lineup and has seven homers. Addison Russell, the prized shortstop prospect, was acquired last season from the Oakland Athletics. These two rookies have high ceiling and could hold down the left side of the infield at Wrigley for seasons to come.
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Another prized talent is first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo, 25, has hit nine home runs and driven in 29 RBI in 46 games. His 1.009 OPS ranks fourth best in the NL. Epstein is responsible for bringing Bryant (via the draft), Russell and Rizzo (trades) to the Cubs’ lineup. All three have the ability to become franchise players, and Chicago has every one of them under contract until at least 2019. Even rookie Cuban defector Jorge Soler isn’t a free agent until 2021.
There are still a lot of prospects within the Cubs’ farm system to get excited about as well. Infielder Javier Baez, 22, is currently in Triple-A and is projected to make the majors as early as 2016. At the age of 22, Kyle Schwarber is a catcher and outfielder who is hitting .307/.436/.584 with 10 homers in Double-A. Another former first round draft pick alongside Schwarber to keep an eye on is outfielder Albert Almora.
The Chicago Cubs might not strike gold with all of these players, but the depth gives them high hopes, and hope is something very important to baseball fans on Chicago’s North Side of town. The Cubs are playing like a playoff team right now. They trail only the St. Louis Cardinals in the division, by 5 ½ games. Epstein needs successful role players. They may not win the World Series in 2015, but as players continue to grow together and management keeps the nucleus intact, this could be a successful team.
Not since the 2003 postseason and the Steve Bartman fiasco have winning in the playoffs been a real possibility this fall for the beloved and beleaguered Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have long been perceived as “loveable losers.” They are slowly stripping that label away, slowly moving in the direction from being a 100 loss team to a 100 win team.