The Cubs infield serves up the best collection of young talent for fantasy owners in baseball. It includes a young middle infielder who might have the biggest range of outcomes of anyone in the majors, a 25-year-old stud first baseman, a shortstop hoping to recapture his past success and two of baseball’s best prospects just waiting for their chance.

Catcher

Miguel Montero
Welington Castillo

Steamer is not excited about Miguel Montero’s prospects after two down seasons, pegging him for 9 home runs and a .239 average in only 359 at-bats. Those numbers seem a little pessimistic for a player who’s managed to top 400 at-bats each of the past four seasons. Montero can take a walk and he still possesses a small amount of pop. He’s relevant in deep or two-catcher leagues. Welington Castillo does not figure to get enough playing time to be relevant in fantasy leagues.

First base

Anthony Rizzo
Mike Olt

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Hello readers! This is my first post on RotoGraphs. I’ll be writing a weekly column here focusing on hitters and chipping in wherever else I’m needed. I’m thankful for the opportunity from Eno and the gang, and excited to get cracking.

Everyone forgot about Carlos Gonzalez. Maybe that’s not right. How’s this: We got tired of dealing with Carlos Gonzalez. Looking at his rankings this year, that must be what happened.

It’s somewhat understandable. Gonzalez is seemingly always hurt. Things were especially bad last season with terrible production in only 70 games. His Contact% and SwStr% have both been in steady decline since his massive 2010. And he’s already 29, making a season of good health seem less and less likely each passing year. I can definitely understand the Gonzalez fatigue. But when does his risk become worth taking?

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