Pregame Chatter: Cubs v. Mariners; Hammel Pitching – 3:05 CDT

The Cubs take on the Seattle Mariners today at Sloan Park at 3:05 CDT. Jason Hammel is taking the mound with his, yet to be officially named, personal catcher, Kyle Schwarber. Joe Maddon has indicated that having Schwarber catch for Hammel is a possibility and at this point in spring training we’ve seen it happen the last several times Hammel has thrown. Our assumption is that this will continue into the regular season too.

Here’s today’s lineup:

Jason Hammel (R) @ Mariners – James Paxton (L)
1. Dexter Fowler (S) CF
2. Jason Heyward (L) RF
3. Kris Bryant (R) 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
5. Kyle Schwarber (L) C
6. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
7. Addison Russell (R) SS
8. Matt Szczur (R) LF
9. Jason Hammel (R) P

This is another fun and close-to-regular-season lineup. I like Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber in the three, four and five spots. A lot of power and protection there. I also like seeing Addison slotting up a bit to the number seven spot.