The Chicago Cubs (33-26) will battle the Colorado Rockies (31-28) at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL on Wednesday at 1:20 p.m. CDT. How to watch: The game will be Read Update »
It's no secret to those who subscribe and read the articles in CubsHQ that i am an Almora fan since he has been with the Cubs. It is of my opinion only that he has been and will remain the best defensive outfielder on the Cubs, no matter where he plays in the outfield. Correct me if I'm wrong but way back in 2017 when the Cubs acquired Jon Jay the apparent plan was for Jay to mentor Almora to play center field as Almora was to be tagged as the starting center fielder after the loss of Fowler. Obviously, that plan never came to fruition as Almora was once again relegated to being a spot starter against left-handed pitching. I feel bad for Almora and if he were on another team he more than likely would be an everyday starter.
Since Almora is not a homerun hitter; Strikeout Schwarber will always get the nod over Almora and even more so now that Gonzalez is on the team. Almora was just beginning to come into his own offensively by playing on a regular basis, his defense has never been in question. I believe it's difficult to come off the bench and expect to produce when you play one or two days a week, if that. Theses guys are human so it has got to bother Almora by his lack of playing time.
Almora will not be a Hall Of Famer, but neither will Schwarber. Yes he has prodigious power but I could care less if he hits the ball out of the park or in the basket, in other words a homerun is a homerun. You don't get any extra runs for homerun distance. I'd much rather have a hitter that can get a base hit to drive in the runner on 2nd base, something the entire team seems to struggle with.
So hang in there Almora someway, someday,somehow, your time will come, unfortunately it may not be with the Cubs, something I will hate to see happen. My allegiance will always remain with the Cubs as it has for the past 60 years no matter who plays. I just don't like to see talent wasted.