– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 4:47 pm
Cubs 2017 Season Preview
Ready to check out our 2017 Chicago Cubs predictions? The Chicago Cubs finally broke the curse and won the 2016 World Series. Now the question is can this team repeat? The team is built around a young core of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, and should be good for years to come.
MLB Cubs Predictions & Handicapping Insight
But the Cubs strength isn’t just in their bats. The Cubs have one of the strongest pitching staffs in all of Major League Baseball. They have four starters who would be number ones on any other team, and a bullpen that is one of most reliable.
One of the biggest problems the Cubs might have is getting all their good players playing time. They don’t really have a place for Javier Baez, who was one of the World Series hero’s to play. How they insert everyone into their lineup will ultimately decide if they can repeat as World Series Champions.
2017 MLB Team Previews – Chicago Cubs
- National League Central -600
- National League +175
- World Series +450
Key Additions:
- Wade Davis
The Cubs were pretty quiet this off season. They have a great core and didn’t need to make many moves to put themselves in good position to have a chance to repeat.
But the one move they did make was a big one. The Cubs who have a log jam in the outfield traded Jorge Soler to the Royals for Wade Davis.
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Wade Davis, a 31 year old closer will be a great addition on the back end of the Cubs bullpen. Last year Davis had 27 saves for the Royals.
Key Losses:
- P Aroldis Chapman
- CF Dexter Fowler
- P Travis Wood
- P Jason Hammel
- C David Ross
It looks like the Cubs lost a lot of players this off season. But in reality the Cubs have players in house to replace each of the players who they lost this off season.
Cubs Predictions: Projected Lineup:
- RF Ben Zobrist
- LF Kyle Schwarber
- 3B Kris Bryant
- 1B Anthony Rizzo
- C Willson Contreras
- SS Addison Russell
- CF Jason Heyward
- 2B Javier Baez
Not sure you are going to find a better line up anywhere in the MLB. This team has all kinds of power one through nine. Anyone of these guys can hit the ball out of the park each time they step up to the plate.
One of the keys for this line up is that Jason Heyward steps up at the plate. He is great on the defensive side of the ball, which is what kept him in the line up last year. But this year he needs to be better at the plate. If he’s not he might find himself on the bench.
Cubs Predictions: Projected Rotation:
- LH Jon Lester
- RH Jake Arrieta
- RH Kyle Hendricks
- RH John Lackey
- LH Mike Montgomery
- LH Brett Anderson
One of the biggest questions the Cubs have coming into this season is how many men will they have in their starting rotation. A lot of people believe they will have six starters.
If that’s the case the rotation will look like what is shown above. If they decide to only go with five guys it will be between Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson for the final spot.
A six man rotation will probably be the way they will go just to have on innings their other arms have to pitch. The top four pitchers for the Cubs have pitched over 400 innings each over their last two seasons.
If they can have an effective six man rotation that would really save on some of the fatigue of the season, and keep the pitchers fresh for post season play.
Cubs Predictions: Projected Closer:
- RH Wade Davis
After trading for flame thrower Aroldis Chapman last year, he walked after the season. He went back to the Yankees to be their closer.
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The Cubs knew they needed to look somewhere else for a good closer to really sure up the back end of the bullpen. They traded with Kansas City to bring in Wade Davis. After going between a starting pitcher and the bullpen for the beginning of his career, Davis became a full time closer in 2015. Since that time he has saved 44 games.
2017 Chicago Cubs Prediction:
Will the Chicago Cubs be able to handle the pressure that they are put under now that they are the defending World Series Champs?
Even after losing a lot of talent in the off season the Cubs are basically the same team talent wise. They still have Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo anchoring the offense. They have the best starting staff in all of baseball, and one of the best bullpens.
The Chicago Cubs over under for wins this season is 95.5. Last year the Cubs went an unbelievable 103-58. Now I don’t think they will get the 103 wins as teams in their division have improved.
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But I do like them getting up into the 98-100 win range, so I expect the Cubs to do the over. As for in game betting it’s hard to predict the over/under.
As an offense they should put up a lot of runs, but their pitching staff should also not give up a lot of runs so for the early season I would stay away from the over under on the cubs in game.
What do you think of our 2017 Chicago Cubs predictions? Comments are welcome below.
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