The Chicago Cubs are finely toning their roster to prepare for their trip to Japan when they take on the reigning World Series Champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers. So far this spring, the Cubs have played great baseball, sitting at 6-0-2.
The Cubs have a few players performing well this spring, such as Kevin Alcántara and Gage Workman, who are vying for spots on the Opening Day roster.
Some other Cubs are showing off their power skills, which would benefit the Cubs, given they lacked that tool last season.
Who will be the Chicago Cubs home run leader this season?
In a report published by Andrew Simon of MLB.com, he predicts that the Cubs’ new-found superstar, Kyle Tucker, will be their leader in home runs, predicting he will hit 30 this season. The Cubs’ leader in homers last season was Ian Happ, who hit 25, tying his career high. Simon writes that the Cubs haven’t had a 30-home run season by one of their players since 2019, which was done by Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber.
Tucker has all the potential to accomplish this feat, having hit 30hrs twice in his career (2021,2022) and was on pace to do it again last season, but his season was cut short due to a broken shin. Coming into the season healthy and in a ballpark like Wrigley, Tucker has the potential to hit 40hrs and possibly surpass his career-high in RBI, which is 112.
Adding Tucker as the main power threat in their lineup was necessary after the Cubs ranked 17th in slugging percentage (.393) last season and 20th in home runs (170). Having Tucker as a source of power should allow other Cubs hitters to see more fastballs in the zone, which could help drive up their power numbers.
Other players to keep an eye on
There’s no saying that Happ can’t be in the running as the Cubs home run hitter with him finding his power stroke. Some other players who could see a jump in their home run totals are Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch. Busch and Suzuki hit 21 home runs last season, and having Tucker batting in front of them could see their numbers hit the 25 mark.
FanGraphs projects that the Cub’s top four hitters in the lineup to be Happ, Tucker, Suzuki, and Busch, which is a solid 1-4. If Happ, Suzuki, and Busch can hit 25 homers this season and Tucker can add in 30+, that would get them on track to pass their team total from last season.
A lineup with a ton of potential
The Cubs lineup is slowly coming together and should look like a well-oiled machine once the season starts.
The Cubs needed more power to contend with teams like the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, who built their rosters based on power.
Hopefully, all can stay healthy and reach high numbers this season by feeding off each other.
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