Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Nor do most metrics.
That said, he's a plus athlete with good instincts. He'd almost certainly get better as he got more comfortable. I suspect he'd be an above average defender in center for them given some time.
But he's also a big man and that's a lot of weight on his legs. I wouldn't be surprised if right about the time he started feeling like CF was 'home', he's start to lose some of the athletic chops to excel at it.
I went from wanting him to get back to his 2012 swing to now thinking the Cubs should just try to get him back to where he was in 14-15 and lead him off. Schwarber batting leadoff in an NL lineup (as has been rumored) is a hell of a waste unless they also intend to bat the pitcher 8th. His ability to drive in runs would be almost worthless from there.
I'd put Zobrist there but if they could get Heyward back up to a .355 OBP with 20 steals, he'd be a big time help in that he would allow them to maintain that savage middle of the order with Bryant - Rizzo - Schwarber - Russell - Contreras. Man...**** those guys and their dozen superstar hitters.
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Not a bad idea. I think the ship on him being a power bat and the guy we thought he'd be has sailed. But the beauty of the Cubs setup is that they don't need him to be that guy. Let him leadoff, with Zobrist hitting 2nd and set the table for the middle of that lineup.
Sucks to pay that much for what Hayward likely is, but with all the young players they have, it isn't a bid deal.