Draft prep: Chicago Cubs outlook

The Cubs re-signed Aramis Ramirez and they also shelled out big bucks for the top free agent hitter on the market in Alfonso Soriano last year. Their offense went from 28th in the majors in '06 (716 runs scored) to 18th in the majors last year (752).

Soriano joined the Cubs last season to much fanfare, but was it really a surprise that he was unable to repeat his amazing '06 season in Washington? He hit 46 homers with 41 stolen bases, knocking in 95 runs and scoring another 119 runs in '06. He was, in one way or another, responsible for almost 30 percent of the 746 runs scored by the Nationals that season. But last year, in his first season of a huge contract, his numbers were much lower. A strained quadriceps limited him to his fewest games played (135) since he first broke into the majors. But just like we prepared you for a disappointing season in '07 from him -- we're telling you now to expect a bounce-back season in '08. He finished the season strong, hitting a club-record 14 homers in September, and new right fielder Kosuke Fukudome will take some heat off him in the media.

Fukudome is expected to hit in the No. 2 hole. Some have noted he has less power than Hideki Matsui and less speed than Ichiro Suzuki -- isn't that like most major leaguers? But the lineup around him should help him produce enough stats to benefit his Fantasy owners. On CBSSports.com, he's being picked as the 35th outfielder on average in Rotisserie leagues in late winter.

Felix Pie gets the starting spot in center field. As a rookie, he probably hurt his Fantasy owners more than he helped them, with just two homers, eight steals and a .215 batting average in 177 at-bats. Don't let those numbers fool you though, he's still only 23 years old this coming season and hit well in Triple-A. He's a nice late-round sleeper pick in '08. Pie can be had as a fifth outfielder.

Derrek Lee still hits in the heart of this order, but his power took a step back last season. He'll have solid table-setters ahead of him once again this season, so don't let him fall too far in your draft. He is the eighth first baseman being taken on average on our site, but he can do a lot for a Rotisserie team.

Geovany Soto settles in as the starting backstop, and he has a chance to climb into the top 12 among Fantasy catchers over the next few seasons. He can hit, as he proved in the Pacific Coast League, where he won the MVP.

Only three major league pitching staffs had a lower ERA than the Cubs last year. Ace Carlos Zambrano might have won a career-high 18 starts in '07, but he also had a career-high 13 losses, a career-high 3.97 ERA and his 177 Ks were his lowest since 2003. He had two rough months at different stages of the season (April and Aug.), but he was otherwise dominant -- 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA (152 2/3 IP, 131 Ks) -- in the other four months. He finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award balloting.

Ted Lilly and Rich Hill looked very good in their supporting roles in the rotation. Lilly had a career season in his first full year in the NL, posting or matching career-bests in wins (15), innings (207) and strikeouts (174). Hill proved to be a decent mixed league starting pitcher as well.

Spring position battles/b>

Closer -- Carlos Marmol vs. Kerry Wood vs. Bobby Howry
This is an interesting battle between the youngster with the best potential (Marmol), the veteran with a contract that needs to be justified with a pivotal role (Wood) and the veteran with the most experience at the position (Howry). We like Marmol to win the closer's job -- if not out of spring training, then early on in the season. Only Takashi Saito (.151) held opponents to a lower batting average in the NL than Marmol (.169) last season, and he racks up a ton of strikeouts. Grab him while he's still a lesser-known commodity.

No. 4 and 5 SPs -- Jason Marquis vs. Ryan Dempster vs. Sean Marshall vs. Jon Lieber vs. Kevin Hart
Dempster gets yanked back out of the bullpen for a chance to start again. If he doesn't make the rotation, he'll likely return to the bullpen -- not necessarily as the closer. Lieber's signing means that Marshall, Hart and Marquis could be traded for a position player this spring. All are NL-only candidates for now.

You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to dmfantasybaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Cubs outlook in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.