NEWSLETTER
Later this afternoon, the Chicago Cubs will take on the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium with Adbert Alzolay on the mound. The Cubs lineup features just a couple of “regulars,” as the squad is split between Surprise and a “B-game” on the backfields started by Zach Davies.
The Royals lineup, by contrast, has a ton of regulars including two guys who were long-rumored Cubs targets for various reasons (Whit Merrifield, Andrew Benintendi) and one old friend, Jorge Soler.
Speaking of Soler, did you see what he did to Michael Lorenzen a couple days ago?
Lol Jorge Soler’s bat speed on this swing is insane pic.twitter.com/efGPFjzbOh
— Patrick Brennan (@paintingcorner) March 11, 2021
Yeah. He’s still got it in him.
Soler, 29, didn’t have a great 2020 (it was fine, just nothing special), but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him bounce back to 2019-levels over a full year in 2021: .265/.354/.568 (136 wRC+); 48 HRs. He’s easy to root for. Just not today. Go Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (7-4) at Kansas City Royals – Saturday, March 13th, at 2:05 CT
Starting Pitchers
Royals: TBD
versus
Cubs: Adbert Alzolay (R)
Chicago Cubs:
1. Eric Sogard, 2B
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Nico Hoerner, SS
4. Cameron Maybin, CF
5. Ildemaro Vargas, 3B
6. Rafael Ortega, DH
7. Matt Duffy, RF
8. Nick Martini, LF
9. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
Kansas City Royals:
1. Whit Merrifield, RF
2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
3. Adalberto Mondesi, SS
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Salvador Perez, C
6. Jorge Soler, DH
7. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B
8. Jarrod Dyson, CF
9. Nicky Lopez, 2B
