The Chicago Cubs might be the most popular World Series pick heading into 2016, but they have one roster issue that is still unsolved: who will bat leadoff? Following the departure of Dexter Fowler, rumors and speculation have questioned who would take his place.
Such speculative talk will continue into spring training until manager Joe Maddon makes a decision.
"Could it be new outfielder Jason Heyward? What about Kyle Schwarber? Manager Joe Maddon may have some surprises in store," writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
"Heyward could find himself in that role ... In his career, he has been the leadoff man in 126 games, and has a slash line of .280/.354/.427 when he bats first.
"However, Schwarber also was inserted into the No. 1 spot in the lineup in two games, and did post a .355 on-base percentage in 69 games last season. If Schwarber led off, Heyward could bat fourth or fifth."
Heyward more so fits the bill as a leadoff hitter, especially after posting a .293/.359/.439 stat line last season in a weak St. Louis Cardinals lineup. However, he's spent most of his career batting second or third, although it could be argued his numbers as leadoff hitter - top to bottom - are best.
Check out his stats at each spot in the batting order in which he's played at least 100 games:
Batting 1st - .280/.354/.427 with 78 runs scored, 16 home runs, 55 RBI and 14 stolen bases (126 games)
Batting 2nd - .251/.347/.410 with 125 runs scored, 27 home runs, 82 RBI and 14 stolen bases (220 games)
Batting 3rd - .259/.336/.427 with 78 runs scored, 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 18 stolen bases (134 games)
Batting 5th - .269/.353/.402 with 47 runs scored, 5 home runs, 36 RBI and 13 stolen bases (101 games)
On the other hand, Schwarber's MLB career spans just 69 games and he's spent 52 of those batting second. The slugger has a .239/.368/.505 stat line with 44 runs scored, 15 home runs and 37 RBI in that role. His power might be too valuable to put in the leadoff spot.
After all, he did break a fan's windshield today with a massive home run during batting practice.
A photo posted by Peter Gesler (@geslerp) on Feb 17, 2016 at 10:56am PST
As for Heyward, it's clear he's no longer the power hitter many believed him to be. He slugged 18 homers during his rookie season with the Braves and another 27 back in 2012, but he hasn't hit more than 14 in each of his other four MLB seasons. He also hasn't posted an OPS of .800 or higher except for those years where he had the highest home run totals.
Heyward logged a career-high in hits (160) and stolen bases (23) last season. Of those 160 hits, 110 of them were singles. As for Schwarber, he had 57 hits in his debut season and 34 of them were singles. In 147 minor league games, the slugger amassed 173 hits and 100 of them were singles.
Heyward is also a threat on the bases, so it might be best to have him batting in front of the rest of the team's big hitters in order to facilitate as much run production as possible.
Yes, Maddon is full of surprises and always has been, but the Heyward seems to be the logical choice here (unless there's another candidate in the running, such as Ben Zobrist).
The rumors will continue to persist, but by looking at the numbers we may have a good idea who will succeed Fowler as the Cubs leadoff hitter in 2016.
