Theo's first pick as Cubs' GM was Albert Amora. Amora has always been stellar defensively, but appears to be making strides offensively as well. In his last 50 games between AA and AAA, he's is slashing .328/.399/.474 with a 10% walk rate and 10% K rate. No one is going to replace Schwarber, but in September/October, Chicago may have the option of running the best defensive OF in baseball on the field, to support one of the best rotations, and a pretty dangerous offensive lineup (that is striking out less, and taking more walks so far).

I know you guys are going to hate Cubs' updates by the end of the year, if not already, but I'm geeked about this team and the future. I've never seen this in Chicago, meaning we're set-up for success now and despite all of the young players starting, the farm is still deep. Lacking in TOR pitching, but deep. Some Iowa Cubs batting averages:

Contreras: .421.
Vogelbach: .405.
Almora Jr.: 324.

Contreras is the Cubs' future catcher and improving defensively (probably ready in '17), Vogelbach will be traded to the AL for pitching soon (not a great athlete even at 1B, but he'll hit in the AL), and Almora is the future in CF. I'll spare you a run-down on all of the farm talent, but it's still a top 10 system despite 5 major contributors coming up last year. No guarantees of a championship or anything like that, and half our wins are against Cincinnati, but this feels like the start of something special.

NL playoffs are going to be special the next few years.