Best young core in baseball

25.8

Young players, of course, are less likely to decline, get injured or regress than old players. According to FanGraphs WAR, the Cubs had the most WAR from position players 26 and younger in 2016 (second place: Red Sox, 19.3).

Historic start at the hot corner

In Kris Bryant, the Cubs potentially have an all-time great at third base. According to Baseball-Reference.com, no position player has accumulated more wins above replacement in his first two big league seasons than Bryant.

1ST SEASON 2ND SEASON

Youngest champs in decades

27.2

The Cubs haven't let inexperience stop them from dominating. Using Baseball-Reference's formula (weighted for plate appearances and games played), the Cubs had the youngest average age of position players of any champion since the 1969 Mets (26.0 years old).

New leadoff question will test Chicago

Last year's leadoff hitter, Dexter Fowler, reached base 216 times. Now that Fowler is in St. Louis, Chicago's projected leadoff hitter is Kyle Schwarber. Want to guess how many times he reached base during the 2016 regular season?