Chicago Cubs: The pluses and minuses of Kris Bryant batting leadoff
By Bill Felber
Chicago Cubs: The pluses and minuses of Kris Bryant batting leadoff
To Ross, then, the choice of a leadoff hitter boils down to Bryant vs. Rizzo vs. Don’t Worry About It. But selecting either Bryant or Rizzo for leadoff duty robs the Chicago Cubs of their ability in a run-production slot, either third or fourth.
Weighing the costs and benefits of that tradeoff is a true challenge.
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There is a downside to this move for Bryant as well. Batting him leadoff may cut into his run-producing opportunities, especially given the questionable state of the bottom of the Cubs’ likely batting order.
The team’s 7-8-9 hitters, those most likely to be batting ahead of Bryant, are some combination of Ian Happ, Jason Heyward, David Bote, and the pitcher. Their collective .346 on-base average was above the MLB average, but well below the .372 on-base average that would be in front of him if he was batting behind Rizzo and Schwarber.
That diminished run-production potential is not only consequential for the Cubs’ offense, it’s also consequential for the salary demands of a player who will be a free agent in two seasons.
Ross could also consider the Don’t Worry About It option, whose name likely is Ian Happ. In that case, though Ross would be placing a large bet on Happ, who couldn’t win the center field job from Albert Almora last spring, and whose on-base average when he returned to the majors only got to .333.
The bottom line, then, is that Ross has few stellar options in selecting his leadoff hitter, that Bryant is one of the best of those lackluster options, but that moving him to the leadoff slot does threaten to impact his run-production potential.
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On the plus side, the game has de-emphasized the choice of a leadoff hitter to such an extent that we are probably obsessing too much about the question to start with.