This preview, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Bryan Grosnick, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. More Game One coverage can be found here.
It’s finally here! The World Series kicks off tonight with Game 1, and two long-storied franchises with histories of futility and new-school front offices will face off. There’s narrative aplenty here–if you want more on that, check out Aaron Gleeman’s overall, seven-game series preview, breaking things down from every angle–but now it’s time to talk up the primary actors for Game 1. That starts with the two ace starting pitchers: Corey Kluber and Jon Lester.
Chicago Cubs (Jon Lester) at Cleveland (Corey Kluber), 8:00 PM ET
PECOTA odds of winning: 51% Cleveland, 49% Cubs
Projected Starting Lineups
| Cubs vs. Kluber (R) | Cleveland vs. Lester (L) |
| Dexter Fowler (S), CF | Rajai Davis (R), CF |
| Kris Bryant (R), 3B | Jason Kipnis (L), 2B |
| Anthony Rizzo (L), 1B | Francisco Lindor (S), SS |
| Ben Zobrist (S), LF | Mike Napoli (R), 1B |
| Javier Baez (R), 2B | Carlos Santana (S), DH |
| Kyle Schwarber (L), DH | Jose Ramirez (S), 3B |
| Addison Russell (R), SS | Brandon Guyer (R), LF |
| Jason Heyward (L), RF | Lonnie Chisenhall (L), RF |
| David Ross (R), C | Roberto Perez (R), C |
Injuries/Availability
Since it’s the beginning of a series, the most important injuries to talk about are the guys coming back, rather than the ones who’re recently injured. For the Cubs, that’s Kyle Schwarber. For Cleveland, that’s Danny Salazar. Salazar’s easy, because I’d expect that he’s not playing in Game 1. Cleveland will want to hold him for later in the series–perhaps as the Game 4 starter, perhaps as a bullpen arm. Don’t look for him here.
Schwarber, on the other hand, matters tonight. Word on the street is that he’ll be the team’s designated hitter starting in Game 1 against the right-handed Kluber. That’s probably some kind of upgrade over Chris Coghlan as the team’s DH, but what kind of upgrade is still up in the air. After his electric 2015 postseason (.333/.419/.889!), the Wrigley faithful might be expecting bomb after bomb from Schwarbs, despite his only playing two games in 2016.
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Lead photo courtesy David Richard—USA Today Sports.