Chicago Cubs: Albert Almora Might Be Legit

The Chicago Cubs have struggled to find a CF since the departure of Dexter Fowler. Former top prospect Albert Almora, however, might actually be the answer.

Spring Training is the time of year where everyone is in the best shape of their life, had a monumental offseason of training and is ready to take over the MLB landscape. Besides the pre-filtered greatest hit tracks player give to the media, sometimes they do enter spring training with something new.

That brings us to Chicago Cubs center fielder Albert Almora. Once thought to be the center field of the future, Almora was given the opportunity to run with the job but failed to seize it.

This past season, Jason Heyward was forced into center field duty when the Cubs upgraded with Nick Castellanos in right field.

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Almora had the worst year of his career with a lowly 64 wRC+, -6 Defensive Runs Saved, and a lowly -0.7 fWAR. He also had one of the worst exit velocities among hitters at 85.2 MPH.

This year, though, Almora has entered spring training with a swing change and there’s reason to believe he could finally take over in CF.

If Almora is truly changing his swing and approach at the plate, there are optimistic indicators in his Statcast metrics that indicate he could be an offensive asset. Almora had a max exit velocity of 111.7 MPH. Among all hitters, Almora had the 8th largest difference between his max velocity and average velocity at nearly 27 MPH.

Almora hits the ball just as hard as Kris Bryant and Castellanos (technically harder if you include the decimal points). Next to him on the list is standout SS Trevor Story.

The difference between Almora and these other guys is his ability to consistently make quality contact. One component of exit velocity is raw strength, but the other component is the hit tool that allows you to make quality contact. This new swing could potentially allow Almora to use more of his raw power in games.

All the exit velocity in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t get it in the air. With a 53% ground ball rate, Almora will need to refine his swing to or else his swing changes will be rendered moot.

Albert Almora has an opportunity to win a job in spring training. 2020 is a fresh start for Almora, if he can put last seasons struggles behind him, he has the ability to be a huge asset for the Chicago Cubs.