What to expect from Albert Almora Jr. in 2019

In the first half of 2018 Albert Almora could not be stopped. He hit a very impressive .319/.357/.409 and at one point was leading the league in batting. The second half, however, was a massive fall off as he hit just .232/.267/.280, a massive fall off and one that raises some questions going into 2019.

One of Almoras bright spots offensively was his ability to hit lefties, he hit a very impressive .295/.340/.402, and while the power was bit low, that was something that afflicted the Cubs as a whole so it'll be interesting to see if that bounces back in 2019.

Almoras power was the weakest portion of his game in 2018, his xSLG of .315 was one of the worst in all of baseball and his 5 barrels in 369 plate appearances was equally horrendous. His hard contact rate of 27.4 percent ranked in the bottom 10 percent in all of baseball. That's all despite his launch angle and BABIP remaining at basically the same level as 2017.

Where Almora shined in 2018 was his defense. Early in the season he was considered a prime candidate for a Gold Glove award thanks to some spectacular catches According to Baseball Savant Almora's defense was incredibly impressive as he ranked 7th in all of baseball with 12 outs above average, and his catch rate of 93 percent was 4th in all of baseball.

Almora is probably going to receive the majority of plate appearances for the Cubs in center field. Though the Cubs might favor Ian Happ in situations against a tough righty. If he can return to his first half numbers he would be a huge addition to the Cubs lineup, but if he struggles he could find his playing time reduced or even find himself back in AAA.

2019 is going to be a make or break year for Almora, the Cubs already have a glut at outfield (and that's not including the potential addition of Bryce Harper) so if he has a down season going into his first arbitration season the Cubs might look to trade him or cut bait with him.

Cubs should take a look at Zach Duke

One of the more notable losses the Cubs will face this offseason is the loss of lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Although his control was awful at time, he managed to post a 3.46 ERA in 54.2 innings for the Cubs, including holding lefties to a .241/.319/.345 slash.

Like every season their is a glut of free agent relievers on the market, and one of those relievers is Zach Duke. On the outset his numbers aren't that impressive. He posted a 4.15 ERA in 52 innings split between the Twins and Mariners. But a deeper look at the numbers suggest he pitched much better than his numbers indicated.

His xFIP of 3.74 and BABIP against of .394 suggest that he may have been a victim of both bad luck and poor defense behind him. He also had some pretty severe splits as righties slashed .311/.403/.370 against him compared to just .220/.283/.319 against lefties. His K-BB% of 12.5% was fairly solid and he posted the highest ground ball percentage of his career at 59.4 percent.

Duke turns 36 in April so age is not on his side, but he has generally been fairly reliable since he made the full conversion to a reliever in 2012. He wouldn't be the most glamorous addition to the Cubs team, but he's a guy I think the Cubs should definitely be looking at as a cheaper option to add to their bullpen.