Skip to main content

Chicago Cubs Defensive Highlights From 2021

 


The Cubs were not the best defensively this past season, ranking no. 20 with defense (I mean, at least they weren't no. 30!), but that doesn't mean they didn't make any good plays. I found this pretty awesome video on the Cubs defense highlights from 2021, so take ten minutes and watch this neat compilation. 



I just want to make a few comments about the video and the great defensive plays:
  • Notice how many times Alcantara got featured? I mean, I didn't think he was an awful defensive player, but after watching the video and seeing his great range and arm, I think he was one of the Cubs better shortstops in 2021.
  • Wisdom had a few nice plays at third, and I liked his arm in throwing to first. One kind of funny moment is when he had a sweet play at third and threw Bryant out at first. I still like Bryant, just thought that was kind of ironic.
  • Schwindel really showed he could be a solid first baseman, and in that video, you see him stretching up and down and making some dandy plays of his own. (The finger guns always get me.)
  • Hoerner, who missed a lot of the season with injuries, made a lot of good plays at second, although he's only on the video a couple times. His defense is so valuable I would really hate for him to get a bench role, but...
  • Outfield had some nice plays with Happ, Ortega, and Heyward all getting their fair share of solid defensive plays. Hermosillo made that one homerun robbing catch which really shows some of his crazy defensive abilities.
  • And did you happen to notice Hendricks' nice leaping grab? The Professor can still be just as athletic as some of the other guys.
The Cubs will be adding another shortstop/third baseman/first baseman/pitcher with amazing defensive abilities in 2022: Marcus Stroman. I'll add a short clip of some of his defensive highlights in 2021:

Just some fun little flashbacks of some of the 2021 Cubs memories.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Iowa Cubs Roster Evaluation: Infield Depth

The last article I wrote evaluating the Iowa Cubs' roster, I analyzed the pitching depth. This article we'll discuss the infield depth of the Iowa Cubs including catcher, first, second, shortstop and third. If you are unfamiliar with the minor league system, here is my explanation from my previous article: " Players are drafted by a team from high school or college, and when that team drafts them, they start training in that team's farm system, starting with the bottom, usually a complex league or rookie league. Then they jump to the official minor leagues, starting with Low A, and they work their way up to the Triple-A level from which it is one step to reach MLB." That's just a simplified explanation, but it'll give you an idea if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Anyway, as a precursor to my evaluation, I do want to say that infield prospects do a lot of shifting around the infield instead of strictly staying with one position. While some shift around ...

Which Top FA Outfielders Would Be A Good Fit for the Cubs?

 Let's start with some overall news and then get into our subject for today. Noah Syndergaard signed a 1-year deal with the Angels today. Kind of an interesting move- seems like they want to get Trout and Ohtani a World Series victory, maybe? Noah Syndergaard agrees to $21M, 1-year Angels deal. @jonmorosi and @JeffPassan 1st — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 16, 2021 #Angels make their first splash of the offseason; https://t.co/0O5D9wpMUz pic.twitter.com/FyN7v1M421 — MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 16, 2021 The Blue Jays have extended their trade-deadline pickup Jose Berrios...   #BlueJays ' big trade-deadline acquisition will be staying in Toronto a lot longer now: https://t.co/1oaDT73uFn pic.twitter.com/Wco3kBiB8G — MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 16, 2021 Looks like the Mets finally have their GM after interviewing scores of candidates. I was wondering if they were going to start interviewing fans.  Billy Eppler is finalizing an ag...

Cubs Roster Moves, The Hot Stove Begins, Cubs Front Office Moves and Other Cubs News

  The Offseason Has Begun. And with it floods of moves; DFAing, signing FAs, trades, and the list goes on. The same is true for the Cubs, who had to bring their roster down to 40, since 5 players on the 60 day IL had to be reinstated, bringing the current roster to 43. So, the Cubs made some moves. Trayce Thompson was outrighted Nick Martini was outrighted Kohl Stewart was outrighted Jonathan Holder was outrighted "Outrighted" means that they will be sent to Iowa and become minor league free agents. Other teams can sign them to minor league deals, or the Cubs could resign them, which I doubt would happen. That brings the Cubs' roster down to 39, meaning they can sign a FA, or get a player off waivers (what happened to Schwindel). Of course, they'll be trimming the roster down more, making room for prospects that need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, and signing other FA. The players that were outrighted didn't really bring much value to the Cubs, save for Th...