5 Dominoes if the Cubs Sign Alex Gordon
Fifth domino, sophomore slump
While the Cubs might not win the World Series next season, many odds makers have already named them the favorite to win in 2016, this team will be built to make that championship run. Like Theo said (paraphrasing), the best way to win is by building a team that will be there year in year out, this club will be built to be there for years to come.
The Cubs are built on many young players, and Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber may hit that sophomore slump in 2016. If they struggle, it’s not because they are bad players, no just look at Anthony Rizzo’s second full year in the Major’s, he and just about anyone not named Mike Trout struggle in their second season. The league tends to catch up with a young player, opposing pitching staffs have an entire offseason to breakdown the weaknesses in a player’s swing and they adjust accordingly.
The Cubs success in 2016 will be correlated to how quickly these youngsters can adjust back to the league. It’s hard to imagine Bryant striking out more than he did in 2015, and judging from his — and frankly most of the Cubs young nucleus — makeup, don’t expect these guys to slump for very long.
Part of that reasoning is, these youngsters are professionals, even before they made their MLB debut. Part of that is Jed Hoyer’s and Theo Epstein’s belief in having young hitters well prepared by having lots of at bats in the minors so that hutters can experience pitches adusting to them and they can work out of potential slumps. But also, there are other guys around them that not only protect them in this dangerous lineup, but who have recently gone through these struggles as well.
The second year guy’s success will determine just how far this Cubs team will go. If they break that sophomore slump quickly, we could have an early November parade in Chicago.
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