Winner: Dansby Swanson and An Elite Defense

By almost any metric, the Cubs had one of the best defensive teams in baseball this season, ranking among the MLB leaders in Defensive Runs Saved (83, second), Outs Above Average (31, fourth) and Defensive Runs Above Average (34.9, second).

That can often go overlooked in a world of 60-homer seasons and 100 mph fastballs, but it was on full display Thursday and throughout the series, with two-time Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson leading the way at shortstop with multiple highlight reel snags.

Second baseman Nico Hoerner had a leaping grab and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made a nice catch in center field early in the game, and there is a strong case to be made that both of those players are the cream of the crop defensively at their respective positions.

Bats can go cold and even the best pitchers have an off day, but a good defensive team will generally show up with those gloves day in and day out, and that’s something the Cubs will be able to lean on throughout their playoff run.

Winner: A Resurgent Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker

Pete Crow-Armstrong was a bona fide NL MVP candidate during the first half of the season, but he seemed to run out of gas a bit down the stretch, which is not surprising considering this is his first full season in the big leagues.

Even with a pair of home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals in the final series of the regular season, he still hit just .224/.264/.382 with 22 strikeouts in 88 plate appearances in September. That was followed by a 0-for-6 performance with five strikeouts in Game 1 and Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, and it looked like he might be a non-factor in October.

However, it’s a whole new ballgame after he went 3-for-4 in Game 3 while showing a level of confidence in the batter’s box he has not displayed in weeks.

Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker awakened from his own offensive slumber after injuries limited him to just five games in September. He went 1-for-7 with a single in the first two games of the series. Tucker flipped the script in Game 3, hitting 2-for-4 with a run scored and looking the closest he has to his All-Star self in weeks. However, he is still searching for his first extra-base hit since Sept. 2. 

Looking at the bigger picture, the Cubs got contributions from up and down the roster throughout the Wild Card Series, and after coasting to a 35-31 record in the second half after going 57-39 before the All-Star break, they are suddenly looking like a legitimate title contender once again.