Ian Happ (Creative Commons: IDSportsPhoto)
After being written off for dead by many, including myself, the Chicago Cubs have experienced a recent renaissance, winning six out of their last seven. The revival has been fueled by an improved offense and better bullpen work. And, as has been the case for all season, the starting pitching has been strong.
It’s a shame the team hit the snooze button from the middle of May until the first part of July.
Three guys are carrying the offense
After being in a deep freeze for a good part of the season, Ian Happ‘s bat has come to life. Happ has raised his OPS to .803 to go with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs. Happ’s WAR has jumped to 2.4. Probably more than any other player, Happ has led the turnaround.
Michael Busch has settled in as a producer at the first base position. His bat needs to be in the lineup versus lefties or righties. Busch leads the team in slugging at .484 and OPS with a mark of .853. In an odd statistical quirk, both Happ and Busch have each struck out 98 times. Happ has walked 49 times, while Busch has walked 39 times. Busch leads Cubs position players with a WAR of 2.6. And is getting better. In fairness to Jed Hoyer, he did a nice job in picking up Busch.
There was some dismay about the Cubs not picking up Rhys Hoskins for their first base or DH slot. Hoskins currently has an OPS of .733 and a WAR of 0.0.
Seiya Suzuki is the third member of the Cubs’ hitting trifecta. While Suzuki has become a real adventure in right field, his bat has come around. He is the third member of the Cubs to raise his OPS over .800. His OPS is currently resting at .809.
Still waiting…
The Cubs were counting heavily on Christopher Morel for offensive production. That’s looking like a mistake. He’s currently hitting under .200 and seems to have regressed. His defense hasn’t been abysmal, but it has been really, really bad. Maybe I’m splitting hairs.
The much maligned, by me anyway, Miles Mastrobuoni, has stabilized the third base position, at least defensively. And in the last handful of games, has contributed offensively.
Dansby Swanson is back to playing great defensively but is sporting an unsightly batting average of .209.
Meanwhile, recently acquired catcher, Tomas Nido, is hitting .137 as a Cub, with an OPS of .373. And he has driven in three runs.
The Cubs need more from those players or positions.
The bullpen has had a makeover
Lo and behold, the Cubs now have some hard throwers to use in high leverage situations. The ironically named 6’8″ Luke Little has settled in for some seventh and eighth inning work and is doing well. He has struck out 28 in 26 innings. Finally, a hard throwing lefty out of the pen.
Porter Hodge has also given some life to a much-maligned pen. He has worked only 15 innings, but has struck out 16 while walking six.
And then there is Hunter Bigge. Hunter has pitched only one inning, which was scoreless, while recording one strikeout. On a 100-mph fastball.
Tyson Miller was picked up a little bit earlier, and while not overwhelmingly successful, marked an improvement over what the Cubs had previously.
Where do the Cubs go from here?
The team seems to have some internal options to solidify the bullpen. However, picking up a third baseman, DH or a bat from somewhere would be great.
This year seems a lot like last season. Last year, the Cubs added a little bit at the trade deadline, but not enough. The Cody Bellinger injury has added another element to the Cubs season.
Jed Hoyer missed the boat last season. Whatever he does, I hope he adds a bat.
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