27-year old lefty swinging Luis Valbuena and 37-year old righty swinging Cody Ransom have formed a solid platoon at 3B for the Cubs so far this year.  Valbuena played in 31 games for the Cubs last year and he was 25 of 92 (.272 avg, .874 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Ransom has played in 14 games for the Cubs since they signed him and he is 13 for 40 (.325 avg, 1.036 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 homers and 5 RBIs.  The Cubs hope that Valbuena and Ransom keep up the good work as they need all of the help that they can get offensively.

26-year old righty swinging catcher Welington Castillo was supposed to share time with switch-hitting Dioner Navarro, but he has taken over an almost full-time role so far this year.  Castillo has played in 14 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 19 for 54 (.352 avg, .838 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Castillo is hacking at the plate right now as he has whiffed 13 times without walking so far this year, and it’s going to be hard for him to maintain a high batting average that way.  Castillo has now played in 77 games in his first four years with the Cubs and he is 72 for 257 (.280 avg, .768 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers, 31 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

22-year old righty swinging SS Starlin Castro slumped in the middle of the season for the Cubs, but he’s finishing strongly in September. Castro has played in 22 games so far this month and he is 29 for 89 (.326 avg, .865 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 153 games overall this year for the Cubs and he is 174 of 613 (.284 avg, .751 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 13 homers, 76 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He has now played in 436 games in his first three years with the Cubs and he is 520 of 1,750 (.297 avg, .761 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 26 homers, 183 RBIs and 57 stolen bases. Castro has solidified himself as one of the key building blocks for the Cubs in their rebuilding project.

36-year old righty swinging LF Alfonso Soriano isn’t letting all of the losing effect his performance at the plate, as he has remained hot in September. He has played in 17 games for the Cubs so far this month and he is 18 of 69 (.261 avg, .838 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 19 RBIs. Soriano has played in 138 games overall this year for the Cubs and he is 135 of 517 (.261 avg, .811 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 29 homers, 101 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Cubs are likely going to try to deal Soriano over the winter and teams are going to be interested as he still swings a pretty solid bat.

The Chicago Cubs are getting rock solid work out of 36-year old righty swinging LF Alfonso Soriano. He is having his best season since his first two with the Cubs back in 2007 and 2008. He has played in 107 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 105 of 398 (.264 avg, .809 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 21 homers, 71 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Cubs hope that Soriano keeps ripping the ball because it will make him easier to deal this winter.

22-year old lefty swinging 1B Anthony Rizzo is off to a great start for the Cubs. He has played in 10 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 15 for 40 (.375 avg, 1.140 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs. Rizzo played in 70 games in AAA-ball for the Cubs earlier this year and he was 88 for 257 (.342 avg, 1.101 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 23 homers, 62 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Rizzo will be the Cubs’ 1B for a long, long time if he keeps hitting the ball like he has at both levels for the Cubs so far this year.

26-year old lefty swinging CF Tony Campana has been really playing pretty well for the Cubs since he has been inserted into the starting lineup. Campana has played in 42 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 33 for 118 (.280 avg, .634 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and a major league leading 21 stolen bases. He has now played in 137 games in his first two years with the Cubbies and he is 70 for 261 (.268 avg, .617 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. The Cubs hope Campana keeps up the good work as his speed gives their offense and defense a dynamic it didn’t have before he was in the starting lineup.

36-year old righty swinging starting LF Alfonso Soriano wouldn’t mind being dealt to a contender and the Cubs would likely love to oblige him. Roadblocks abound as Soriano is signed through the 2014 season as he’s owed $36 million bucks in 2013 and 2014. That doesn’t even include the money he’s owed for the rest of this season. The Cubs would likely have to send at least $25 million bucks along with Soriano, and that’s a lot of cash to eat. Soriano has played in 48 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 47 of 179 (.263 avg, .762 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 693 games in his six years with the Cubs and he is 706 of 2,659 (.266 avg, .814 OPS) with 368 runs scored, 140 homers, 398 RBIs and 55 stolen bases. Soriano will likely have to get hot at the plate before a team is willing to deal for him because of the money involved.

32-year old lefty swinging outfielder David DeJesus is off to a rock solid start for the Cubs so far this year. He has played in 42 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 44 for 156 (.282 avg, .758 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. DeJesus is leading the Cubs in run scored so far this year, as he has given the offense a nice boost. The Cubs hope that DeJesus keeps up the good work and I have no reason to think he won’t as long as he can stay healthy.

25-year old lefty swinging CF Tony Campana has really excelled after the Cubs dealt Marlon Byrd to the Red Sox. He has played in 24 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 23 for 73 (.315 avg, .729 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Campana has now played in 119 games in his first two years with the Cubbies and he is 60 for 216 (.278 avg, .646 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. As long as he keeps hitting well, Campana will be starting in CF for the Cubs.