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Cubs Sweet 16 bracket challenge: Ranking top position players since 2000

In the spirit of the NCAA tournament — canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — NBC Sports Chicago hosted a March Madness themed tournament on the latest Cubs Talk Podcast.

Jeff Nelson, Nate Poppen and Tim Stebbins rank the top 16 Cubs position players of the 2000s, running through a four-round bracket to determine who’s No. 1. Here’s how the players lined up:

(1) Anthony Rizzo vs. (16) Kosuke Fukudome

(8) Willson Contreras vs. (9) Dexter Fowler

(5) Alfonso Soriano vs. (12) Sammy Sosa

(4) Aramis Ramirez vs. (13) Mark DeRosa

(6) Derrek Lee vs.