Breakdown of the Cubs Roster

The Breakdown of the Cubs Roster

Hitters

Catchers

Welington Castillo- Bats R, Castillo can really hit off left-handed pitchers, he has a lot potential and is geared up for a breakout season one of these years.

Dioner Navarro- Switch hitter, who will be the veteran presence for Castillo behind the plate and will give Castillo a break against tough right-handed matchups.

 

First Baseman

Anthony Rizzo- Bats L, Rizzo will be the key to the success for the Cubs future and gives the Cubs a powerful bat against right-handed pitching.

Steve Clevenger- Bats L, Clevenger is hard working hitter who mostly is a catcher, but will be Rizzo’s pickup at first this season.

Second Baseman

Darwin Barney- Bats R, last year’s golden glove winner, but Barney needs to improve his batting skills this year in order to make name for himself.

Third Baseman

Luis Valbuena- Bats L, Valbuena will be in the lineup regularly when there is a RHP on the mound because of the injury to Ian Stewart this spring and Valbuena gives the Cubbies a solid defensive player at third.

Brent Lillibridge- Bats R, Lillibridge will be the utility player for the Cubs and should find a spot in the lineup on most days because of his glove.

Shortstop

Starlin Castro- Bats R, Castro is the franchise player for the Cubs, who just got a big contract extension this off-season and is due for a breakout season.

Left Fielder

Alfonso Soriano- Bats R, Soriano had a very solid year last season which should help the value the Cubbies can get if they decide to trade him.

Center Fielder

David DeJesus- Bats L, DeJesus is a solid fielder and might not be the best hitter in MLB, but DeJesus’s plate discipline could rub off on the other batters.

Dave Sappelt- Bats R, Sappelt is deadly against LHPs who can also play a little first base and was acquired in the Sean Marshall trade.

Left Fielder

Nate Schierholtz- Bats L, Schierholtz just signed with the Cubs this off-season and will be used in a platoon role with Hairston, but Schierholtz can be an x-factor for the Cubs because he is fairly underrated when it comes to batting against LHP.

Scott Hairston- Bats R, Hairston hit 20 home runs last year in less than 400 plate appearances which gives the Cubs another powerful bat on the right side of the plate.

Pitchers

Starting Rotation

Jeff Samardzija- RHP, Samardzija is an athlete who has great stuff and can be an ace of a pitching staff because of his competitive nature. 

Edwin Jackson- RHP, Edwin Jackson is an inning eater who has pitched in some big games and gives a veteran presence in the rotation.

Travis Wood- LHP, Wood provided the Cubs with solid innings last year and if the Cubs want to compete this year they will need Wood to be a quality 3 starter.

Carlos Villanueva- RHP, Villanueva is more setup for long relief and swing starter, but injuries to Scott Baker and Matt Garza mean that he has to start the year off in the starting rotation.

Scott Feldman- RHP, Feldman started a few games for the Rangers last year and is now expected to start for a whole year or at least until Scott Baker and Matt Garza comeback from injuries.

Bullpen

Long Relievers

Hisanori Takahashi- LHP, Takahashi gives the Cubs another left-hander in the bullpen and can help out with innings this year because he has shown it in the past.

Hector Rondon- RHP, Rondon is a rule 5 draft pick therefore he will be in the majors all year long or he could be claimed by another team and that means Rondon will be used out of the bullpen whenever there is a game out of reach.

Middle Relievers

Shawn Camp- RHP, Camp is a great sinker ball pitcher, who was very effective out of the bullpen last year and led the National League in game appearances last year.

Michael Bowdon- RHP, Bowdon is a solid middle reliever pitcher and he could eventually blossom into the pitcher that he was projected to be.  

Setup Man

James Russell- LHP, Russell is the left-handed specialist for the Cubbies, but he is not just a specialist, he is a great setup man and has a chance to lead the National League in Holds this season.

Kyuji Fujikawa- RHP, Fujikawa comes from Japan to initially be a setup man for the Cubs, but he has the history of being a good closer in his career and should be the closer of the Cubs if they trade Marmol this season or when Marmol’s contract is expired.

Closer

Carlos Marmol- RHP, there isn’t ever a question about how elite Marmol’s stuff is, but Marmol’s command is always in question and because of his command issues he is very likely to be traded this season. He was almost traded this off-season to the Angels for Dan Haren, but that trade fell through.

Injuries

Third Baseman

Ian Stewart- Left-handed power hitter, Stewart would be the starting third baseman on opening day, but Stewart will be starting on the DL instead.

Starting Pitcher

Matt Garza- RHP, Garza is going to start out on the DL because he injured himself this spring. Garza would be the ace of the pitching staff this year if he didn’t start out injured and there are rumors that he might get traded this season.

Scott Baker- RHP, the longtime Minnesota Twin is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery and the Cubs were aware of his injury when they signed him so it’s not a big surprise that Baker will be starting out on the DL this season.