Projecting the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 Postseason Lineup

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and the Chicago Cubs are officially headed to the 2025 MLB postseason.

The Cubs clinched a playoff berth, their first since the 2020 COVID season, in Wednesday’s 8-4 victory over the rival Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the Cubs won’t win the NL Central, they remain on track to capture the NL’s top Wild Card seed and host the San Diego Padres in the first round.

“This is the right group to do it with, and I love being a Chicago Cub,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters. “I love being able to celebrate with these people, specifically.”

Unfortunately for the Cubs, there is no guarantee they’ll have All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker in October. Tucker hurt his left calf on Sept. 2 and traveled to Tampa earlier this week to get a second opinion. Cubs manager Craig Counsell admitted that Tucker has “plateaued” in his recovery, and it remains unclear if he’ll return ahead of the playoffs.

So, what could the Cubs’ playoff lineup look like? Considering Tucker’s calf injury, we have omitted him from our predicted Wild Card Round roster.

There's a lot of players whose names start with "M" in that lineup, aren't there?

Happ has alternated between hitting second and third in Tucker’s absence, but we get the sense that Counsell will want him ahead of Suzuki in the Wild Card Round. Although Crow-Armstrong has hit sixth at times in the second half, we feel that the Cubs are better off using him in the cleanup spot.

You might be surprised to see Busch, a 6-foot, 210-pound first baseman, hitting leadoff. However, he’s reaching base at a .330 clip and has 29 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 22 doubles in just over 554 plate appearances. Counsell clearly trusts Busch at the top of the order, though we’d prefer Hoerner there.

Speaking of Hoerner, he’s posted a team-high 6.3 bWAR with 28 stolen bases, 29 doubles, and a .754 OPS. That’s precisely what you want from your No. 2 hitter, especially if Tucker can’t play.