Will the Cubs have a 9+ fWAR player this year?

[David]

Just something I was thinking about. We have a lot of guys you can project to be around 5 win players, give or take one...Arrieta, Lester, Rizzo, Bryant, Heyward, Schwarber...you could even throw Zobrist and Russell into the mix as wild cards, just maybe not as solidly as those other guys.

 

For reference, Harper and Trout were the only players in this category last year. Josh Donaldson was just short. Trout was around 8 the year before and just over 10 the year before that. So it's pretty damn rare.

 

Was thinking about this and how we don't have a super-duper star like those guys, but with that many opportunities, we might have a guy have enough things to go right to get there, or just some crazy breakout waiting to happen from a guy who is already damn good (i.e. Addison...he has the skill-set being a premium defender at a premium position where if he can be just a pretty good offensive player, he's going to put up big time WAR totals).

 

BTW, It's very hard to get there as a pitcher, maybe even impossible by practical standards, so I shouldn't have even mentioned Arrieta and Lester. Kershaw and Jake didn't even get there last year and they were ridiculously amazing for 230 innings. I just listed them because they fit that 5ish win description.

 

Vote and discuss.

[sneakypower]

using the 7 win threshold makes this actually an interesting question

 

9+ is a firm hell no (although Jake did have 9.4 RA9-WAR in '15)

[David]

using the 7 win threshold makes this actually an interesting question

 

9+ is a firm hell no

 

i kinda think 7 is likely, given how many guys we have who can top out there. hell, we had one last year. and we had another half a win away who didn't play for 2 weeks.

[SouthSideRyan]

Yes, KB will put up a silly, unsustainable dWAR en route to an MVP

[Cubswin11]

I voted and think no, but if anyone is gonna do it it's most likely Bryant and maybe Heyward. If Bryant does Bryant things offensively and grades silly defensively (like SSR said) I could see it or if Heyward gets his usual defensive grade and taps into the offensive upside he possesses. I think we will have at least 4 6-8 WAR players, however.

[David]

Hmm.........maybe

[Aaron_Kennelly]

hehe... remember before the season started, when we thought we were only 100-win good and not 120-win good?

[David]

1/3 of the way through, Fowler on pace for 9.3, Bryant for 7.8 (with wind blowing out in his future) and Zobrist for 8.4.

[Derwood]

1/3 of the way through, Fowler on pace for 9.3, Bryant for 7.8 (with wind blowing out in his future) and Zobrist for 8.4.

 

the 2016 Cubs are going to break the WAR stat

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Dexter Fowler playing at a 9-win pace is the most unfair thing ever. He and Zobrist make me not even care about Heyward struggling.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Dexter Fowler playing at a 9-win pace is the most unfair thing ever. He and Zobrist make me not even care about Heyward struggling.

I still care

[David]

Very possibly

[David]

Yes, KB will put up a silly, unsustainable dWAR en route to an MVP

 

This is looking fairly prescient, except for it being based on some crazy extraordinarily good defensive number and not just a good one.

[David]

btw KB ended up about a half win short