The Chicago Cubs will have one of the better offensive tandems in baseball in Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki.
Both will be key cogs in the Cubs lineup with FanGraphs having the Cubs batting them second and third.
Suzuki was recently told he will be the team’s primary DH this season with manager Craig Counsell informing him already and Seiya taking it in stride.
Both are figuring to have All-Star seasons with Tucker possibly having an MVP-type season and both were ranked as two of the best right fielders in baseball.
Chicago Cubs superstar No. 2 right fielder in baseball
MLB Network just released their list of the best right fielders in all of baseball according to the Shredder and Kyle Tucker was ranked as the second best behind Aaron Judge. Tucker would’ve competed and given Judge a good running for the MVP award last season before going down with a shin injury.
The Top 10 right fielders in the game, according to The Shredder! @MLBNow | #Top10RightNow pic.twitter.com/XEArzuUaHv
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 24, 2025
The Chicago Cubs lacked a superstar and someone who was the face of the team that they could build around. So the Cubs went out and made a trade for superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros to be that guy.
Tucker is coming off a season in which he only played 78 games due to a shin injury and was on pace to have an MVP-type season before going down. Coming into this season fully healthy Tucker is primed to go off and was ranked as the second-best right fielder.
"He's a game-changer."
Kyle Tucker came in at #2 on The Shredder's #Top10RightNow for right fielders! pic.twitter.com/JCHrqgOgBS
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 24, 2025
In almost half a season of work put in Tucker was on that kind of a pace with having a .289/.369/.517 with OPS and OPS+ of .886 and 142. Tucker had 23 home runs and 13 doubles to his credit as well. One more note to mention that was impressive was that Tucker had more walks (56) than he had struck outs (54). For the field Tucker also had 14 defensive runs save according to Baseball Reference.
Tucker on his resume is a 3x All-Star and a 3x top 20 MVP finalist with his highest placement being fifth which he did in 2023. Tucker is also a Silver Slugger winner (‘23) and a Gold Glove award winner (‘22). It’s not hard to see why he was rated as the second-best right fielder in baseball.
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Suzuki is an adequate right fielder with having 6 defensive runs saved in right fielder last season according to his Baseball Reference. Suzuki was also slightly below average for his fielding percentage with .981 to the league’s .986.
Suzuki is one is the type of fielder that can make routine plays, but not special ones. The only plus Suzuki has for him is his arm with it ranking in the 82nd percentile according to Baseball Savant.
Seiya is more known for his bat with its more advanced ranking in the 93rd percentile for his batting value compared to 30th for his fielding. Ranking in in the 94th percentile for chase percentage Suzuki has one of the better eyes in baseball showing he won’t chase out of the zone. Seiya also was able to put the sweet spot of the bat on the ball with a rating in the 91st and 89th percentiles for a landing spot and hard hit percentage.
For the 2024 season, Suzuki had a solid season overall playing in 132 games 27 doubles, 21 HRs, and 73 RBI, for a slash line of .283/.366/.482 for an OPS and OPS+ of .848 and 138. With being the Cub’s primary designated hitter for this season Seiya will get a lot of good pitches to see with Tucker batting in front of him. He will also figure to walk a lot more with pitchers preferring to face Suzuki, his offensive numbers should tick up this season.
An elite tandem
The Cubs have the chance to make the playoffs this season if both Tucker and Suzuki perform offensively.
This is going to be a special season and having two of the best right fielders in all of baseball will help hopefully bring the Cubs to the promised land.
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