Projecting the Chicago Cubs Opening Day Lineup!

0:00Who bats lead off who hits cleanup who's in the nine hole opening day starting line of projection coming up next You are locked on cubs your daily Chicago cubs podcasts part of the locked on podcasts network your team every day You are locked on cubs part of the locked on podcast network now the number one sports podcast network. We are your team every day I'm Sam Older and I'm a lifelong fan taking my passion into a discussion with you on all things cubs this episode of locked on cubs is brought to you by MLB the show 26 visit MLB the show dot com slash locked on and use code locked on to unlock a pack for use in diamond dynasty pre order now available March 17th on PlayStation 5 Xbox and Nintendo Switch rated E for everyone on today's show

1:03We're going to do a little hot and cold a spring training. What should you be worried about is it not a big deal is it a big deal We're going to dive into a season preview for the great Nico Horner But I want to start the show today doing a opening day starting lineup projection batting order all that fun stuff I'm going to go from the right a right handed pitcher pitching I'm going to assume a right handed pitchers on the mound will do lefty lefty maybe next week But for right now opening day I don't know who the gnats are throwing out on opening day I'll be honest with you We're just going to assume it's a righty maybe the better way of putting it is the every day starting lineup to start the year versus right handed pitching I'm going to give you the full lineup and then I'll get get into my reasoning This is more what I would like to see versus predicting what Craig's going to do because I'm pretty confident this isn't what the lineup's going to be

2:03But this is what I think optimizes the lineup the absolute best I also said it many times over the past couple years he believes the whole batting order thing is overrated In some ways I agree in some ways I disagree I over thought this for sure But this is what I think is the best lineup thinking of all possible outcomes So I'm just going to get right to it leading off on opening day against the right handed pitcher leading off and playing first base Michael Bush batting second and playing third base Newcomer Alex Breggman batting third and playing right field Seiya Suzuki batting clean up and playing left field I believe four time gold Glover in a row E in half batting fifth and playing second base Nico Horner batting sixth and playing center field Pete Crow Armstrong batting seventh and catching the duo of Carson Kelly and or well or Miguel Amaya

3:10batting eighth and D.H.ing Moises by Astero's and batting ninth playing shortstop Danesby Swanson Here's why I went with this group okay let's start out with Bush leading off Probably think it's better off skill set wise for Ian to do it but Bush ended up getting comfortable there at the end of the year had a lot of success And we have an on record we know that Hap doesn't love doing it so why not you know why fix something that's not broken and let Bush start there But here's the key if Bush starts there and we know that he's going to play every day and get a lot of it bats Lefty's late in games you want to surround him with as many righties as possible or as many guys that hit left handed pitching really well as possible That's why Danesby's nine that's why Breggman and Seiya back to back two three are hitting from the right side So you have Bush sandwiched between three right handed hitters that handle lefties well

4:14Now there's nothing you could do in the ninth inning if it goes eight nine one and by Astero's is leading off and then a lefty gets the sandwich of by Astero's dance me and then Bush That's just how the order goes you're going to have lefties in your lineup you know and there's going to be parts of the order that just come up where there's nothing you could do about it But I just think this is a really good opportunity to sandwich Bush in between a lot of righties so he doesn't have to worry because think about the scenario Let's say it's let's say it is the ninth and Danesby's leading off and you want Bush to face a lefty if you're the opposing team Okay, that's fine, you know But you have to keep in you're ready to face Danesby then you make the switch for Bush but then back to back you have to deal with Breggman and Seiya who both are going to mash lefties this year So I just think that's the best combination to use Bush in the lead off spot and hide him from lefties as much as you can Breggman batting second I mean that's kind of self-explanatory one of your best hitters you want him in the two hole I think that I think he will be hitting second

5:17Besides for the whole Bush thing that I just talked about I have say a hit and third because you know he's one of the best hitters on the team And I like him there I like him in an RBI spot, you know you could easily convince me and maybe council flips him in half I have half hitting fourth because I don't know what left handed bat to hit fourth if Bush is leading off who's it going to be I don't think they have enough confidence yet and Pete if all goes well it's Pete's spot that's where Pete should be But to start the year to take a little bit pressure a little bit of pressure off of him I could see happy for Pete being six I think Nico batting fifth will raise a lot of eyebrows if you're in every day or you know from day one with us You know I don't like I don't like Nico Horner in the lead-off spot. I don't even love them in the two hole that much I love him in RBI spots This is somebody that bat at 371 last year with runners in scoring position what better RBI spot to have him hitting fifth Behind me in half great old BP guy Breggman great old BP guy say hopefully a better old BP guy think that's just a great spot to optimize his skill set

6:23Sixth PCA we just talked about that seven Kelly And then and then I buy a steroids eight could definitely see by the end of the year buy a steroids crack in the four hole three holes something like that but you know young kid putting a pressure on him as least as possible Least pressure as possible and then Dan's be ninth outside of what I said about you know the bush thing because you could easily put Kelly nine fair and have the same effect of protecting bush a little bit not having them let them go to a lefty earlier I just think Dan's be doesn't like being hitting down in the order I think he takes insult to it and I think it motivates him I really do that's I just I just do I really think it bothers him when he hits eighth or ninth so hit him eighth or ninth And make him hit his way out of it just like he did last year make him prove to you that he's not an eight or eight hit or nine hit or and so I like that I think some some players Don't perform better when they're angry and some do when I think Dan's be is the ladder and so that's how it go I think this is a very nice lineup

7:31It's not a great lineup. It's not a great lineup. I'm not going to sit here and say to great lineup I think it's a good major league baseball lineup and one of these nine guys I don't know who it's going to be one of them is just going to have to take a couple of steps Farther than we anticipate them taking in order to take this lineup to the level that it needs to go but hopefully with this many solid players And to be honest with you you have nine pretty solid offensive players here you won't have a two three month low Which we know in 24 and 23 cost of the season last year is really only one month and it didn't cost in the season The goal is to avoid that long slump that long low and you know this offense should be good enough to make the post season Let me know what you guys think is the best possible lineup for the Cubs there's a lot of options there and there's a lot of different ways to go about it One thing we do know is for sure one guy that we do know that will be in the lineup is Nico Horner and we preview his season coming up next

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10:38And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about indeed on lockdown cubs indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs All right, we are back here on locked on cubs baseball is also back and you can lock in by joining the every day or club which gets you add free episodes for the next week or so you can use code spring for a free month go to locked on cubs dot super cast dot com or tap the link in the show notes last season Nico Horner slash 297 345 394 with seven home runs 61 RB eyes and a whopping 371 batting average with runners in scoring position You can't really ask anything more from Nico Horner

11:41So when I did his 9 and 9 I said just be the same Nico Horner when I do his season preview I'm going to say it again just be the same Nico Horner We don't need anything more we don't need anything less if you're flirt with 300 and you're spraying the ball all over the diamond You're hitting with runners in scoring position you're playing gold glove caliber defense that's what this team needs to win the only thing I get concerned about with Nico Horner is that he is going into a walk year a contract year and he is not somebody who is unintelligent he's a very smart smart guy and he knows that in order to maximize his money and I'm not at all insinuating he's going to do this I'm just concerned I don't want him to try and be somebody that he's not you know sure the occasional 2031 big hack in the right moment go for it but if they're second and third two outs and you know it's 2021 a base hit the right field is the same thing as a two run home run I don't want to see him become home run happy

12:49I don't want to see him become fly ball happy I don't subscribe to the whole hey that was good contact from Nico when he hits a ball like 97 98 off the bat to the track and center field he doesn't have center field home run power that's not what he does anytime I see a ball with like a 25 plus degree launch angle in the middle of the diamond with Nico Horner I pretty much check check out an out that's not what he does hard low line drives ground balls hitting the ball the other way back to ball skills great base running great defense that's what he does and that's what this team needs game and by estero's their two jobs are to provide that and I think that the the best lineups in baseball are some of the most diverse lineups in baseball right you have guys you know half that do a little bit of everything you know Breggman high contact guy with some pop say a big pop guy bush more of a big pop guy Pete you know not an OBP guy but a big pop guy with speed

13:54you know Kelly a little bit of everything dance be big pop guy put lower average lower OB Pete like everybody has their their strengths and Nico strength Nico strength is the biggest strength that the Cubs have there's nobody bettered anything on the Cubs then offensively the Nico is at putting the baseball in play his back to ball skills is the Cubs biggest offensive strength it's bigger than Pete speed in my opinion it's bigger than say as raw power it's bigger than bushes raw power it's it's the best one thing that any Cubs does offensively and he needs to continue to do that and I know it's frustrating I can't imagine being a guy like Horner where it's like well you know I had a you know what was his OPS last year 394 345 so like in the mid-7s I know that you know that that number isn't going to wild people right and there's a lot of people out there that's so frustratingly only look at OPS to describe a hitter

15:00oh and I've had friends say this to me why you so in love with Nico Horner what was he with like a 745 OPS guy last year that's nothing you don't know baseball okay you don't know baseball that's 739 OPS whatever it was last year 739 I believe that was just as valuable to the Cubs then say as over 800 OPS the way he did it when he did it okay it's not just one statistic in baseball yes OPS is a great measure of success I'm not saying that it isn't but there are other measures of success and to me one of them is when do you get your base hits who do you get your base hits off of Nico Horner ain't going to be overwhelmed by anybody's best stuff right you know where do you get your base hits right can you play hit and run can you do all these things if Nico Horner were watching this which is probably not don't change a thing Nico I don't care if you hit four home runs next year three two one that

16:04batting average is in the 290s and those are big loud important hits with guys on base home runs don't matter for you let's say I pick up the home run total let bush pick up the home run total let Breggman let hat let Pete let dance be you and moises by a stereos your jobs base hits base hits with runners and scoring position on Monday I was watching by a stereos pop base hit the left field the runner and scoring position pop double the left field runner and scoring position that type of offense because as much as home runs are important in the post season so is that type of offense against the league pitching and there's nobody that does it better than Nico Horner nobody I thought Nico was what was from start to finish the best player on the team on the cubs last year including pitchers the most consistent the most reliable and I hope more the same and you know there's there's a half quote out there

17:07about you know recently from Bruce about you know he doesn't know if he's going to be back and all these things man if there's one guy that that's in a walk here that I just feel like the cubs really can't afford to lose you can make the case for say a and I know that Matt Shaw is right behind Nico Horner and the goal is is for Shaw to seamlessly come in but I really hope by the by May June whatever the Nico Horner is a cub for another few more years I just think he symbolizes everything you want a winning baseball player to be and you know I love him on the cubs and I expect him to have another really good year the only the only negative for Nico would just be you know walkier sometimes can be tricky it could be a lot of pressure for guys with a lot of money on the line we saw what happened you know at the end of the year I mean I know Tucker was injured but you know the performance and stuff you know could could also go happen with Zach Allen last year in a walk here you know so that'd be the only case against Nico Horner not having a big year because all other signs point to this guy being an all star and one of the best second baseman in all the land I think it's going to be a big year for Nico Horner we talk about

18:13some guys it could be a big year for that might be struggling a little bit in spring training we do that coming up next today I am thrilled to be talking about our sponsor MLB the show 26 the greatest game in baseball is back with its newest installment baseball fans are going to have a hard pulling themselves away from the game I think MLB the show is the best sports game it's the most realistic you get to do career mode franchise mode I mean this is right around the time in a couple of weeks you want to start projecting the Cubs season play Cubs Nationals Cubs Angels the first two series of the year see if you can go six and oh you have dreams are going 162 and oh on MLB the show you get to play with PCA you can create your own player if you're a gamer a baseball fan or just want to enjoy America's favorite past time in a new exciting way you're going to love MLB the show 26 plays your favorite team and franchise players and see if you have what it takes to win your own world series

19:15is it MLB the dot show slash lockdown and use code locked on to unlock a pack for use in diamond C Internet connection required pre-order now available March 17th on PlayStation 5 Xbox Series S and X and Nintendo switch rated E for everyone we are back here I locked on Cubs the number one podcast for your Chicago Cubs every day and we close out today's show talking a little bit a hot and cold of spring training now I will say I promise that I was it could have overreact over spring training and I'm going to continue that promise especially off one of our guys who delivered in the postseason and was excellent and I said that he deserves great city does I mean he really does but I also said that I think it's noteworthy and my job is to present these notes to you as the listener because you may not realize what's

20:21been going on and so I have to do it so I'm going to start with with the cold section here and James and Tyrone has been very cold I mean it's it's noteworthy he has thrown six innings so far in this spring he's allowed 13 earn runs six home runs in six innings to be honest with you I thought it was more home runs I was on the phone with Matt and I told him I think eight home runs I don't remember what was six actually seems low to me but when I was doing the research for the for the pod that's that's what I saw he's gotten hit I just think when you have three outings like that in a row that that should fire off a couple of alarm bells of just like hey is there something mechanically going on is there something physically going on I don't know I mean Tyrone even seemed a little bit concerned and was kind of hoping that you know go into the WBC and change in the

21:22environment will get him right I mean you know it seems worse than it is when you actually think about it because it seems like it's been three outings but it's really been six innings so when you put all three together it's like one plus of bad starts so like I said I don't think it's panic time yet but you know it's been rough and you know the only reason I do think there might be a case to be a little worried about it is just because the thing that he did really well last year limits lugged the left these he's not doing this year but you know I watched the start with my own eyes on Monday afternoon and you know the Velo is down a little bit but it was mostly just what gets JMo in trouble always which is just you know hanging sweepers hanging cutters ahead in the count right down the middle and so you know it doesn't really matter whether it's spring training regular season playoffs whatever it is if you do that consistently you know you're going to get hit consistently so I'm confident that he'll find the zone he'll

22:23he'll figure out his his pitch mix and and be able to locate a little bit better than he has but it's something to keep an eye on I think of the WBC because I think we're in the mode now where he has one or two more now you might have to be talking about maybe a you know a quick IEL stint or something along those lines because you don't want a guy going into the season that's giving up you know a home run every inning and you know all the things that that that you go go along with that so just to keep an eye on that and the other cold I put was just show to gave up three home runs his last outing I actually thought he looked pretty good his fastball was topping out at 94 but he gave up three homeers and you know the same thing goes for a guy like Porter Hodge who you could put on our cold list he had another rough outing his last time out when you're getting in trouble doing the things that get you in trouble during the regular season I think sometimes that could be a little bit noteworthy in the spring I don't think it means showed us can have a bad year I'm confident that he's not it's different with a guy

23:25like Porter Hodge who's less established but you know Porter Hodge walks a lot of people and that's why he struggled in the big leagues well he's walked a lot of people this spring show to gives up a lot of home runs and it got to the point where he was unpitchable in the biggest game of the season for the Cubs well he's given up a lot of home runs already this spring will just you know three in nings of work but you know just things to watch for with those guys hopefully they can start keeping the ball in the park as we get closer to opening day the hot the good news my goodness Jefferson Rojas is just lacing the baseball slashing 316 381 632 every hit seems to be a hundred plus miles an hour off his bat every hit seems to be for extra bases in a double he actually grounded into a double play the other day at 105 miles an hour and then hit a hundred nine mile an hour double if you haven't had a chance to watch him hit yet in the spring and you know you probably haven't because the games aren't really aired he's a really fun watch man he's got aggressive violent right handed

24:26swing where he just he just tease off on it and he's fun he's fun really fun prospect entering his 21 year old season someone to be excited about the Cubs system obviously isn't what it was but this guy really seems like the number one prospect as we head into the 2026 campaign and then the other hot I put was moistest bias there was you know he only had one good game that I was watching it was only a second game but my goodness can this guy hit runners and scoring position let the ball get the go in the other way extra base hits line drives through the third short bait short stop hole you know just the exact type of thing you want to see from about the ball guy exactly what I was talking about with Nico Horner in the second segment I think moistest bias there was could provide that with a little bit more pop from the left side I am I got to control my expectations for him because he's so young but I cannot wait to watch this young man take swings every day for the Cubs against

25:30right handed pitching I think he's going to rake and I really I'm being honest with you I really don't think there's going to be much of an adjustment period for him and then the last note if you haven't had a chance go go ahead and go go on Twitter and watch the home run that say a Suzuki hit for team Japan in an exhibition game the other night it's probably the farthest best swing I've ever seen him take it looked like he hit about a 470 foot home run I mean it was an absolute mammoth blast I don't know about I don't know about you guys but I am like I'm really starting to get pumped up for the world baseball classic and I think it's because of how many Cubs are in it like I just watched Breggman hit a home run in in an exhibition game the say a blast I just talked about I'm really happy that tyoans going to get to pitch at the WBC because I want to see him in a competitive environment you know to to to make sure that he's good after you know the spring that he's had so far you know I'm hoping that PCA will play

26:35bucks and got to start as I'm recording this on on Tuesday afternoon but but hopefully PCA will play because I think that has the potential to be the most exciting just because of who he is but you know Assad's going to play Pilency is going to play I just think having this many Cubs playing has got me really excited and I just think I have baseball fever and I'm ready to go like I'm going to be in front of the television Friday night US first great Britain I mean it's going to be you know a really really good opportunity and I think you know a good opportunity for these guys to then come into the season ready to go the competitive juices are flowing and I just I'm excited I don't know I'm interested to hear comment comment below just like what what you're feeling is on the WBC because I'm excited to watch our players and I really think they're going to perform thank you for making Lockdown comes your first list of the day for those of you on video we said you to the 24 seven national Lockdown podcast network YouTube channel and on audio make sure your second listen is Lockdown MLB