Craig Counsell offered a sneak peek at what the Chicago Cubs lineup might look like when games start counting.

Against the Hanshin Tigers on Friday in an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome, the Cubs manager trotted out these nine players against lefty starter Keito Mombetsu:

Ian Happ, LF
Seiya Suzuki, DH
Kyle Tucker, RF
Justin Turner, 1B
Matt Shaw, 3B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
Miguel Amaya, C
Jon Berti, 2B

[Cubs takeaways: What we learned in 3-0 loss to Hanshin Tigers in Japan]

The most notable arrangement was Suzuki in the 2-hole with Tucker behind him and Turner and Shaw after that. Tucker seemed like a prime candidate to hit in the second spot in Counsell’s order after being acquired from the Astros in a blockbuster offseason trade.

But, against a southpaw, bumping Suzuki up might make the most sense. Just a few days before kicking off the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s fair game to start dissecting lineups — even if Counsell isn’t ready to entertain that thought just yet. After all, it’s an exhibition game against a pitcher the Cubs knew little about and with different rules than the ones they’ll have when the games count.

“We’re still kind of playing around with our lineup construction a little bit,” Counsell told reporters on Friday during a press conference prior to their 3-0 loss to the Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB). “So right now, Seiya is going to hit second. I think Seiya’ll hit third sometimes.

“I think he’s going to hit generally second or third in the lineup. And I think that’s a really good spot.”

Counsell has preached the lineup operating as a circle since being introduced as the Cubs’ manager in November of 2023. The order shouldn’t matter, so long as the players are compiling solid at-bats and passing the baton.

“You’re trying to put as many good players around each of our guys to put pressure on the other team to score,” Counsell said on Friday.

Of course, it’s more fun to speculate who will be a team’s leadoff hitter, cleanup hitter or batting ninth.  It’s fair game to assume Tucker will hit second against a right-handed hitter — the lefty is an elite bat and the modern game calls for your best hitter to hit second, giving them the most plate appearances possible.

But with a southpaw on the mound, Suzuki makes plenty of sense to hit in that role. He’s no slouch with the bat, either.

[WATCH: Catch all the action from last night’s game in Tokyo, only on the Marquee Sports Network App]

Suzuki ranks 19th among qualified hitters in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) over the last two seasons. His 133 wRC+ is 33 percentage points above league average and ranks ahead of players like José Ramírez, Francisco Lindor, Rafael Devers and Kyle Schwarber. Tucker’s 153 wRC+ is 7th, sandwiched between the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (156) and Freddie Freeman (151).

The key, though, for Suzuki will be to stay healthy — he has yet to play over 140 games in any of his three big league seasons. That could lead to a potent 1-2 — er, 2-3 — punch near the top of the Cubs’ lineup.

“[Suzuki] just has a rare combination of hitting the ball really hard, making good contact and pretty good swing decisions,” Counsell said. “All those ingredients, I think, make evaluators very excited about his possibilities. Really all we need from Seiya is just we need him out there every day.

“If we get that, we know we’re going to get a good season from him. He’s such a talented hitter. My goal is just to write his name in the lineup as much as possible.”