Are the Chicago Cubs finally becoming the team so many hoped they would be at the start of the season? Did they simply need some stability in the bullpen and a reinforcement at third base? It’s too early to get too excited about their run. They’re not yet .500 — although at 59-60 they’re closer than they’ve been in two months — and they’re still three games out of a playoff spot, with three other teams ahead of them. So it’s probably a little premature to feel playoff fever.
But the team is undoubtedly playing better baseball. Here are three insights into why things have changed and what little things have stood out recently.
The offensive improvement goes far beyond Isaac Paredes
Manager Craig Counsell has argued that the signing of Paredes is not the only reason for the Cubs’ sudden consistent offense.
“One of the things that happens is we’re consistent because we have, I think, nine guys that are performing right now on offense,” Counsell said. “What day that happens, we don’t have to know. But I think that’s what makes you consistent. We had a stretch where Ian (Happ) had a lot of big hits. That was our offense, Ian had big hits for a week. Ian didn’t have a big home run and we scored runs pretty consistently. I think that’s because we had different guys stepping in on a daily basis.”
Through July 26, the Cubs’ 7-8-9 hitters combined for a wRC+ of 71, 25th in baseball. Since then, that group of hitters has been the best in baseball with a wRC+ of 150. The standouts during that span were Dansby Swanson (152 wRC+ in 46 batting appearances) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (139 wRC+ in 50 batting appearances). But they’re not alone, as Christian Bethancourt, Patrick Wisdom and David Bote have all performed well in their limited playing time over the past two weeks, when the offense has finally been scoring runs consistently.
That just hasn’t been the case over the first four months of the season. If things continue like this, at least at a higher level than before, the Cubs can continue to make waves in the standings.
Michael Busch plays an outstanding defense at first base
Earlier this year, Busch’s defense didn’t look great, particularly his ability to catch balls thrown to him in the dirt. That’s no longer the case. Not only does he have no trouble catching balls in the dirt, but he shows tremendous range and an accurate arm when he needs it. Probably not unusual for someone who rose through the minors primarily as a second baseman.
“When you move the center fielder to first base, you get range,” Counsell said. “The hard thing about first base is you play the ball in the strike zone and you have to think about getting to first base. So it would take some time for him to get comfortable playing the ball in the strike zone and using his range and then moving a little bit farther off base and still feeling confident enough to get back to base and receive throws. But the more comfortable he gets, the more range I think he’s gotten.”
Michael Busch is worth four outs above average at first base this season. (Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
Busch said he considers the speed of the runner and the ball in play when deciding whether to run to right or let Nico Hoerner, one of the game’s best second basemen, make the attempt. Over the course of the season, he seems to have gotten comfortable with that decision-making process.
At least one advanced defensive metric – defensive runs saved – is going to please Busch. He’s 12th overall and the best first baseman with nine DRS. Notably, that puts him at the team lead, tied with Crow-Armstrong (who has played nearly 250 fewer innings).
“It’s pretty cool,” Busch said. “How else are you going to be judged? A lot of people have an opinion about how good someone is, I guess. But when the numbers back it up, that’s pretty cool. At the same time, I’m trying to get better and learn from the mistakes I’ve made. I’m just trying to grow from there and get better every day.”
Crow-Armstrong grows as a baserunner
The man they call PCA isn’t just figuring out what to do at the plate. He’s also learning how to use his speed on the basepaths. In terms of sprint speed, Crow-Armstrong’s 30.1 ft/sec ranks him tied with Elly De La Cruz for third in all of baseball, just behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Victor Scott II. But there’s more to stealing bases than just speed.
“He’s done his homework really well,” Counsell said. “He and Mike Napoli have worked well together here. Pete’s routines have improved significantly over the course of the year, not just in base stealing, to the point where they’re very solid. That was a goal for Pete this year. When you combine good study drills with his athletic ability, you get a good base stealer.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong has made 23 of 23 attempts to steal a base in 80 games. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
That just wasn’t something Crow-Armstrong did in the minor leagues. First of all, pitchers in the minor leagues don’t spend as much time holding runners. They don’t put as much emphasis on time to the plate and pitching out of stretch. At the highest level, it’s a different game.
“I never looked at video information or anything like that,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Every evaluation I got in the minor leagues was athletic and based on nothing. That’s what gets you through down there. It’s harder up here when you’re going up against guys like Korey Lee who throw the ball with absolute toughness. If you do the work beforehand, you just feel more comfortable out there.”
Last year, in his first major league season, Crow-Armstrong only managed 2 of 4 steals. This season, he’s perfect on 23 attempts. Has this short time in the major leagues taught him anything?
“No question,” he said. “You can’t just make a gym bag. Sometimes I can get away with it if I’m fast, like Elly (De La Cruz) or whoever can run that fast. But I feel faster when I have the information because I know what I’m running on.”
(Top photo of Cody Bellinger: Griffin Quinn / Getty Images)
Chicago Cubs
