After a blistering start, Chicago’s bats have gone cold. Discover why Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, and Seiya Suzuki are struggling and which metrics signal some optimism.
The Chicago Cubs are in a weird stretch right now.
After winning 10 straight games from April 28 to May 8, the Cubs have now lost five of their last seven games. They’ve dropped back-to-back series against the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves and split the first two games of the Crosstown Classic with the Chicago White Sox.
So, what has gone wrong for the Cubs recently? Which players haven’t carried their weight? Let’s take a look at three players who are currently slumping at the plate right now.
Nico Hoerner
Nico Hoerner has cooled off significantly since the beginning of the season. He is batting a mere .188 (13-for-69) with five doubles, six RBI, and one stolen base over his last 16 contests and hasn’t helped out this Cubs offense in recent games.
During this five losses in seven game stretch, Hoerner is just 5-for-29 (.172 batting average) with one double, one RBI, and one stolen base. That’s a major difference from where he was at just three weeks ago, when he was batting .309 with 23 RBI in his first 27 games.
Some regression was always inevitable for the Cubs second baseman. But he should break out of this mini-slump very soon. Hoerner still has an elite .292 expected batting average, a 40% launch angle sweet-spot rate, and a 36.1% squared-up rate.
Dansby Swanson
Things have not been pretty for Dansby Swanson at the plate this season. He is hitting only .189 with six home runs, 25 RBI, and three stolen bases in 44 games. Swanson simply looks lost offensively right now.
The veteran shortstop is slashing .161/.212/.210 with three doubles, four RBI, and two stolen bases in his last 18 games. His OPS has dropped all the way to .648, and Swanson has just two hits over his last 20 at-bats (.100 batting average).
While Swanson is posting subpar numbers in the early going, his prior track record suggests he’ll be just fine moving forward. He has hit above .240 with 20+ home runs, 75+ RBI, and 15+ stolen bases in three of the past four years.
Seiya Suzuki
Seiya Suzuki was lacing the ball just a few weeks ago. He was in a 24-for-71 stretch (.338 batting average) with six home runs and 13 RBI from April 13 to May 4. However, Suzuki hasn’t made much of an offensive impact recently.
The Japanese slugger is batting .135 with one home run, four RBI, and 13 strikeouts in his last 10 games. He has just three hits with 12 strikeouts in this recent seven-game stretch and hasn’t had many competitive at-bats over the last week.
The hope is that Suzuki can get out of this slump in the next few days. The Cubs outfielder still has a strong launch angle sweet-spot rate (42%), and he’s too talented not to eventually break out of it.