Chicago Cubs

Tyler Chatwood allowed three hits while striking out four across three scoreless innings in Tuesday's 16-3 Cactus League win over the Giants.

Fantasy Impact: Chatwood is currently competing for the Cubs fifth rotation spot and hurled another quality outing on Tuesday. He owns a 1.86 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 11:2 K:BB ratio across nine 2/3 innings this spring. Even if Chatwood wins the starting job, he is merely only an option in NL-Only League formats.

Wilson Contreras went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Tuesday's 16-3 Cactus League win over the Giants.

Fantasy Impact: Contreras is now slashing .292/.346/.583 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored across 26 plate appearances this spring. The 27-year-old is a top-5 fantasy catcher and is currently fourth in the expert consensus rankings.

Craig Kimbrel allowed two runs on three hits while striking out two across 2/3 of an inning in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.

Fantasy Impact: Kimbrell has looked horrible so far this spring, owning a 16.20 ERA across one 2/3 innings. He should be locked in as the Cubs closer, but the 31-year old will need to improve his 6.53 ERA from last season in order to become a top-10 closer in fantasy once again. Kimbrell will look to turn things around in his next couple of outings before spring training ends.

Kyle Hendricks allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four across four innings in Saturday’s Cactus League Game against Cleveland.

Fantasy Impact: Hendricks has been lights out this spring, owning a 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP and a 8:1 K:BB across nine innings. The 30-year old could start Opening Day for the Cubs, but he will need to beat out both Jon Lester and Yu Darvish for that honor. Hendricks will be in the Cubs rotation regardless and is one of the most consistent starters in baseball.

Anthony Rizzo (blister) played first base and hit second on Saturday against the Reds, going 0-for-2 with a run scored. (Source: Jordan Bastian on MLB.com)

Fantasy Impact: Rizzo was scratched on Friday with a slight blister issue, and it was good to see him get back into the starting lineup the next day. Rizzo figures to hit second behind Kris Bryant this year, and should have plenty of runs and RBI by season's end.

Jason Kipnis was brought in to compete for the starting second base job. He is a former All-Star who has struggled recently but could gain the starting job to begin the season. The Cubs have been reported as hoping Nico Hoerner can go to the minors to continue to develop the skills to realize their hopes that he becomes the answer in the leadoff spot.

Fantasy Impact: Kipnis possibly needs to recapture his old level of production circa 2016 to hold down the job the whole season which makes him a risk. If he produces like the last two seasons, then he will offer some power for the position but hurt your team batting average while not drawing many walks. Avoid him outside of deep leagues.

Kyle Schwarber looks to be the starting left-fielder regularly this season. He offers power and patience at the plate to go with a very strong arm in the field.

Fantasy Impact: Schwarber offers plus power and his tendency to draw walks makes him more valuable in leagues that use OBP. His downside is a lack of steals plus the likelihood of being a slight drain on your team batting average.

Ian Happ has been hot this summer as he is currently batting .500 while continuing his habit from recent years of showing power in Spring Training.

Fantasy Impact: Happ looks like he is making a solid case for being in the lineup more often than not this season. He likely will likely see significant time in centerfield but could also see time at second base. Most of his fantasy value will come from using him at second base or middle infield in deeper leagues.

Jon Lester allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six across 2 2/3 innings in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

Fantasy Impact: Lester was able to overcome allowing too many base runners by striking out six across two 2/3 innings. He has had back-to-back quality outings. Lester owned a 13-10 record, 4.46 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 165 strikeouts across 171 2/3 innings last season. The crafty lefty will look to keep things rolling in his next scheduled spring start.

Yu Darvish (illness) is expected to pitch three innings Friday. (Source: Sahadev Sharma on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Darvish was recently scratched from Thursday's start due to an illness. He will throw three innings on Friday, but it has not been determined if it's a Cactus League or simulated game. Darvish is currently 18th on the expert consensus rankings and is expected to be key part of the Cubs rotation. In his last 24 starts, Darvish owned a (4-5) record with a 3.58 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 192:29 K:BB ratio across 146 innings.

Jose Quintana allowed three runs while striking out one across two innings in Tuesday's 11-10 Cactus League loss to the Rockies.

Fantasy Impact: Quintana struggled in his Spring Training debut, yielding three runs in only two innings of work. He was recently battling the flu, which could be reason for his poor start. Quintana is coming off a down season in 2019, where he owned a 13-9 record with a career-worst 4.68 ERA across 32 starts. The 31-year old is currently the 103rd pitcher on the expert consensus rankings, and is mainly a back-end rotation filler in all league formats.

Javier Baez went 2-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Mariners.

Fantasy Impact: Baez is now hitting .600 (6-for-10) with two home runs across five games this spring. He is had excellent back-to-back seasons and should post elite numbers in 2020. Baez is currently seventh in the shortstop consensus rankings and is being drafted in rounds three-to-four.

Brandon Morrow suffered an upper right chest strain and will be shut down for a few days. (Source: Jesse Rogers on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Morrow dealt with elbow issues last year and missed the entire season due to injury. He opened spring training on the same schedule as the other pitchers in camp before suffering this latest setback. We should have an update on his status sometime in the next few days.

Cubs manager David Ross says he is committed to Kris Bryant as the team's leadoff hitter in 2020. (Source: Paul Sullivan on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: The Cubs have struggled to find a consistent leadoff hitter over the past couple of seasons and Bryant's OBP skills make him an interesting choice. This will likely lead to a decrease in RBIs for the former MVP but it'll certainly help maximize his plate appearances.

Nico Hoerner will have a chance to win the Cubs' starting second base job this year. (Source: MLB.com)

Fantasy Impact: The 22-year-old has been a shortstop throughout his minor league career but is currently blocked at the big league level by some guy named Javier Baez. With Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell out of the picture the Cubs have a hole at second. Hoerner played in 20 games with the Cubs last year, batting .282 with three homers and 17 RBI.

The Cubs signed Hernan Perez to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training. (Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Perez has been on and off the fantasy radar for years as he's seen various levels of playing time with the Brewers. He hit 14 homers while stealing 13 bases in 458 plate appearances in 2017. He's a versatile fielder and could snag a utility role with the Cubs, but unless he receives regular playing time he won't be worth fantasy consideration.

Jharel Cotton was traded from the Athletics to the Cubs Saturday in exchange for cash considerations. (Source: Andrew Baggarly on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Cotton hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2017 due to Tommy John surgery. He owns a career 4.95 ERA over 29 starts. Cotton will add pitching depth and could be used a reliever down the road. He will have fantasy value if he is able to somehow crack the rotation, but as of now he is late-round flyer in dynasty leagues.

Derek Holland (2-5) took the loss Sunday against the Cardinals, allowing seven earned runs on five hits and four walks across two innings.

Fantasy Impact: This was a rough outing for Holland, who was making his first start since May. He finishes 2019 with a 6.08 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 84.1 innings. He could enter 2020 as a low-end starter or a long-relief bullpen member.

Victor Caratini went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Cardinals.

Fantasy Impact: Caratini went deep off Adam Wainwright in the fifth, giving him a career high 11 homers on the season. Caratini has talent, but Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras block his path to playing time in Chicago.

Brandon Kintzler hit a batter but otherwise turned in a clean inning to pick up the save Saturday against the Cardinals.

Fantasy Impact: Craig Kimbrel has not appeared since September 21 when he allowed consecutive homers, so Kintzler was afforded the save opportunity on Saturday night. He has posted a 2.68 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this season.