Fantasy Baseball: 9 Spring Training Position Battles With Big Implications

Chicago Cubs' Fifth Starting Pitcher

The Chicago Cubs' starting rotation finished last year with a 2.96 ERA. Part of that was their talent, but it came along with a 3.88 SEIRA, so that's not the whole equation. A lot of the credit goes to their defense, and a new player is in line to inherit that cheat code this year.

With Jason Hammel gone, the fifth spot in the Cubs' rotation is up for grabs with Brett Anderson and Mike Montgomery as the two contenders. They both have their drawbacks, but either could feast with a defense like this one.

With Anderson, all drawbacks are injury related. He was held to just 11 1/3 innings last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers due to multiple back ailments, and he has exceeded 120 innings just twice in his eight big-league seasons. He posted a 3.46 SIERA in 180 1/3 innings in 2015, so he's good when he's healthy, but it has been a while since we've seen that version on the mound.

Montgomery worked as a swingman last year, pitching in both the bullpen and the rotation with the Seattle Mariners before being traded to Chicago. As a starter, he had a 23.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. The walk rate is what has kept him in the bullpen in the past, and it's what likely gives Anderson the edge to win the job if he can prove he's healed.

It's worth mentioning that we shouldn't expect the Cubs' defense to be as good this year as it was in 2016. Extra exposure to Kyle Schwarber in the outfield could do that alone, Ben Zobrist is entering his age-36 season, and it's just hard in general to duplicate their level of Gucciness. That shouldn't stop them from being a rate-propping unit, though.

Anderson doesn't currently have an ADP, and Montgomery's is 273.3. Whichever guy wins the job could be a potential source of wins while also posting respectable ERA and WHIP numbers. Even if you don't want to target them with a draft pick, be sure to keep them in mind when streaming pitchers early on.