Dansby

Swanson

Swanson was responsible for Chicago’s lone runs against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez for six innings when he took the southpaw deep in the fourth inning for his third long ball of the season. The 32-year-old shortstop is hitting .173 (9-for-52) with three homers, nine RBI and one steal through 16 games.

Swanson got his second homer of the season with a solo blast off Bubba Chandler in the third. The 32-year-old also drew a pair of walks, and scored on both of those free passes. Swanson is now slashing just .163/.311/.308 on the season, but it’s nice to see some reminders that he’s a competent player with the stick.

Swanson got off to a fast start this spring, but he cooled as March went along and has gotten even worse of late; he’s 3-for-21 with no extra-base hits through seven games. He did fire off his hardest swing of the year today, but all that got him was a 132-foot popup. His early bat speed numbers are down from last year, and he’d already lost some ground there from 2024 to 2025.

Swanson appears locked in at the plate this spring, batting .467 with a pair of homers through six games. The 32-year-old veteran has often felt like a player who quietly produces while fantasy managers chase louder profiles elsewhere. That may start to change after he delivered his first career 20-homer, 20-steal campaign last season. Players like Swanson tend to live in a strange space in fantasy baseball — too steady to generate hype, but too productive to ignore once the season is actually underway.

Swanson singled off of Ryne Nelson in the opening inning, but was left stranded there. He then strolled to the dish in the third and pulverized a Spencer Giesting sinker for a 375-foot (100.2 mph EV) two-run shot that increased the D’Backs’ advantage to 4-0. Swanson has been absolutely locked in at the plate to start the spring, hitting .500 (5-for-10) with a pair of homers and five RBI.

The homer came off Logan Allen in the first. It was his first spring home run since 2023, as he went without one in 75 at-bats the last two years.

Swanson wound up 2-for-17 with no RBI and nine strikeouts in the NLDS and 4-for-26 with one RBI and 15 strikeouts between his two postseason series this year. That’s a tough way to end another fine season in which he went 20/20 for the first time and finished with a 105 OPS+ that’s several points better than his career mark of 96.

Chicago will attempt to stave off elimination for the second straight contest at Wrigley Field by rolling out the exact same lineup, which features Busch in the leadoff spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. The 27-year-old slugger blasted a solo homer — his third postseason round-tripper — in the Cubs’ pivotal Game 3 win. Here’s the full lineup: Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Cubs manager Craig Counsell will shake things up with veteran Justin Turner leading off, while Michael Busch starts on the bench. Lefty opener Aaron Ashby will take the ball for Milwaukee to kick off the contest before Quinn Priester enters in a bulk relief role. Here’s the full lineup: Turner (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstring (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Suzuki has been bumped up to the cleanup spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, with Ian Happ moved down a couple spots, after going 3-for-11 with one homer and a pair of doubles in Chicago’s Wild Card Series victory over San Diego. The 31-year-old corner outfielder finished the season with an impressive power surge and is clearly building some momentum heading into fantasy drafts next spring. Here’s the full lineup: Michael Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Suzuki (RF), Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).