Every spring, there seems to be one guy who comes out of nowhere to post amazing numbers in Cubs practice games.
Most of the time, this is an illusion, due to small sample size, thin air in Arizona, pitching being different, etc.
But some of the time, that player makes an impression on the brass and winds up on the Opening Day squad. Or, is someone who hadn’t been particularly on the MLB radar, but the strong spring got them noticed.
Here’s one Cubs hitter for each spring since 2006 who kind of burst upon the scene unexpectedly and hit extremely well, or a better-known player who simply dominated the entire spring.