Nearly 10 years ago, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Guardians in the World Series. I remember people thinking this Cubs team was something like a can't-miss dynasty, a baseball juggernaut just reaching the prime of its dominance. Despite making the World Series a year later, I think it's fair to say that they haven't really lived up those lofty expectations. You'd think the Windy City could handle some loft!

I know, someone or something not living up to their expectations isn't exactly breaking news in the baseball world, but given the talent this team had, everyone kind of felt like this one had a higher shot than normal at being legit. But, as we so often see, a lot can change in a decade. None of the best players are still in Chicago, and most of them aren't even playing professional baseball anymore. 

Of all the young stars on that roster, though, which player ended up having the most successful career, ten years later? For brevity's sake, we'll look at every player who was 26 years old or younger in 2016, who put up a bWAR of 2 or more:

Cubs players with >2 WAR in 2016, age 26 or younger

It's crazy to think that on top of these five, this team also included the three talented fellows below, who barely missed the cut for our article's analysis. Between them, these three dudes only have $300MM, 6 All-Star selections, 5 Gold Glove awards, and a World Series MVP.

Other notable Cubs in 2016, age 26 or younger

Yeah, those are some solid names. I believe the technical term for a squad like this is "crazy stacked" or similar. And then you remember that they also had John Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, Aroldis Chapman, and David Ross in the battery pack, plus Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist in the lineup... you have to think, how could these guys have ever lost in the World Series in 2017? Lol.

Kris Bryant

First, it would be wrong not to acknowledge how much of a bummer Kris Bryant's situation is. I had back surgery a few years ago, and the months leading up to it were hell. I sympathize with this guy tremendously. It might be tough for Rockies fans to stomach the contract, and I honestly sympathize with them as well. Sometimes blame simply shouldn't be placed, and situations just have to be recognized as universally bad. It sucks, but that's life. Of course, in his younger days Bryant was an absolute monster, being one of four players in MLB history to win ROY and MVP in back-to-back seasons. Note: The other two guys in italics won both awards in the same season!

Despite the tough go-of-it he's been experiencing lately, Bryant achieved more in two seasons than most players accomplish in a lifetime: Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and a World Series Ring. He also had four All-Star selections in his career. It's likely we've seen the last of KB the player, so I'll choose to remember him for his early career excellence than his late career injury troubles; at this point, I just want this dude to still be able to play with his kids.

Anthony Rizzo

All right, who's next? Let's talk about Anthony Rizzo. He played nearly 5 more seasons for Chicago after their World Series win, until he was shipped over to New York at 2021's trade deadline. After the acquisition, he played the last 3 full seasons of his career for the Yankees, tallying 315 hits, 60 homers, and a 106 OPS+ as he transitioned from a star-regular-clubhouse-leader-type to a depth-piece-but-still-clubhouse-leader-type role.

The 1x Platinum Glove winner and 4x Gold Glover made an impact off the field as well, winning the 2017 Clemente award for his work with cancer patients and their families. Rizzo himself was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma as an 18-year old minor leaguer, beating the disease 6 months later. He retired in 2024 after playing his last game in the World Series. Seriously, what a guy! Rizzo may be the man, but is he THE man?

Addison Russel

I know as soon as my co-founder saw Addison Russel mentioned at the onset of this article, he'd be dreading what I'd put here; most of the No Control in our slogan is of my doing. But, we're a new site, so I'll be good and exercise a little bit of discretion here. 

Russel had a great season in 2016, and that's probably all we should really say. If you know you know, and if you don't, well, I don't want to be the one to tell you. It's not great. He's currently playing in Mexico after flaring out of MLB about halfway through the 2019 season. Despite the 1st round pedigree, no other team took a flier on him, and he ended up playing in Korea in 2020. Hopefully he has figured some stuff out since then, both on-field and off.

Javier Báez

Another first-round infielder like Russel and Bryant (Rizzo was a 6th rounder), Báez was an integral part of the Cubs offense and defense in 2016. Despite an OPS+ of 94, he hit double-digit homers (14), posted an OBP north of .300 (.314), and slugged over .400 (.423). Add going 12/15 in stolen bases and great defense at multiple positions, and the guy was gold. His defense was so good, he actually led all NL second basemen in DRS (11), despite only playing 383 innings there (a regular second baseman will generally have well over 1,000 innings in a healthy season).

He stayed very successful in Chicago, notably putting up back-to-back seasons of 6.7 and 6.8 bWAR in 2018-2019, until eventually signing with the Tigers for 2022. He was able to turn it around somewhat in 2025 with an All-Star selection, but overall has managed a .232/.269/.361 slash line for an OPS+ of 75 in his Detroit tenure. Interestingly, he has hit 46 home runs and struck out 470 times, meaning that for every one home run, there are about 10 strikeouts. While he's had a long career and earned a lot of money with the 6-year, 140MM deal he got from the Motor City brass, he may not be our winner today.

Kyle Hendricks

Kyle Hendricks is perhaps an intriguing opposite to his long lost relative, Jimi Hendrix. While Hendrix was unbelievably influential for a tragically short period, Hendricks was unremarkably solid for a decently long one. 

2016 was the best year of Hendricks' career, as he won 16 games with a 2.13 ERA. He was also pretty darn effective in 2020's shortened cough-cough season, where his immaculate control shone with a major league best walk rate of less than one batsman per game (0.9 BB/9 IP). Hendricks finished up his Cubs career in 2024, where he worked as both a starter and a reliever. He pitched with Anaheim in 2025 before retiring and joining the Tiger's front office in 2026, where he's likely to work in pitcher development given his background and nickname.

Overall, The Professor had a 3.79 ERA and 105 wins over 12 years and 1745 innings. While he had a good career, was it the goodest of the bunch?

The Verdict

You've made it this far in the article, so I won't hold you hostage any longer. The answer to this question is, of course, Kyle Schwarber, despite him playing in only 2 games in 2016, his age 23 season. Here are his career stats since:

Like I'm not even kidding, as everyone should know by now that Kyle Schwarber is an incredibly valuable ballplayer. However, we did set some parameters at the beginning, so the true winner of this exercise is Anthony Rizzo, even if he doesn't necessarily lead in every stat.

Unfortunately, as I wrote this article, I found that the real analysis of these five guys paints a bit of a grim, yet familiar picture. Untapped potential is never more obvious in life than it is in major league baseball, and the careers of guys like Bryant and Russel, though untapped because of significantly different means, both clearly show us that this sad, yet unavoidable truth can manifest itself in anyone, rich or poor, pro athlete or not. All five of these ballplayers seemed like absolute superstars, can't go wrong talents. It didn't turn out that way. So honestly, go out there and play catch with your son and daughter if you're able, make peace with your loved ones, and thank gosh that Javy, Anthony, and Kyle have all stayed healthy and strong.

Okay, I know Rizzo literally had cancer as a teenager, but he was strong through that, and has been strong since! Not only did he finish his career with over 300 homers and a 123 OPS+, he's now a successful sports broadcaster, which is actually somewhat surprising if you've ever seen his Hot Ones interview. Did I just roast a guy in the same paragraph where I mention his cancer? No Spin, No Control!

In summary, I think Rizzo wins the award for having the best career of all the major 2016 Chicago Cubs young'ns, and a great one at that. Knuckleball News gives a shoutout to the entire 2016 Cubs squad, and wishes everyone the best.