Despite Their Inconsistencies, Cubs Projected For Big Things In 2017

(CBS) Despite their inconsistencies this season, the Cubs still have a believer in the FanGraphs projections.

FanGraphs.com, which simulates the season 10,000 times for daily updates through its Cool Standings feature, projects the Cubs for 89.0 wins and 73.0 losses. Though they enter Tuesday’s tilt with Washington 1.0 game back of the first-place Brewers, the Cubs are the heavy favorites in the NL Central, projected at 82.4 percent chances of winning the division.

Milwaukee (41-37) is given a 5.3 percent chance at the division and is projected to win 79.1 games. St. Louis (35-40) has a 9.7 percent chance at winning the division and projects to win 80.8 games.

The Cubs are 39-37 after holding on for a 5-4 victory over the first-place Nationals in Monday’s series opener. Their defense at the World Series has come with adversity, with inconsistent play and individual struggles. Kyle Schwarber is currently playing in Triple-A Iowa, where he went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game last night. Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Hendricks are all on the disabled list.

Despite the issues, the Cubs are projected with an 86.0 percent chance of making the playoffs (3.6 percent chance through the wild card), a 43.1 percent shot at reaching the NLCS and a 22.9 percent chance at winning the National League pennant.

The Cubs have an 11.0 percent projection to win the World Series for a second straight fall.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2tSmk2N