The Chicago Cubs enter Wednesday night’s home game against the Colorado Rockies leading the NL Central division and just one game behind Philadelphia for the second best record in the National League. The Cubs overcame a very slow start, but are hitting mid-season form now, largely due to a very balanced offense.
Led by Javier Baez, who leads the team in batting average (.309), hits (72) and slugging percentage (.588), the Cubs are scoring runs aplenty, and looking like a team that could be dangerous all season long and into the postseason.
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Baez, the 2016 NLCS co-MVP and NL leader in RBIs/Silver Slugger/All-Star is having a blockbuster season, but the Cubs lineup, in general, is filled with productive players up and down. Long established stalwart Anthony Rizzo leads the Cubs in both home runs (16) and RBIs (43).
The two time Gold Glove winner and three time All-Star is having yet another stellar season.
Then there’s Kris Bryant, who is sporting an impressive .930 OPS, and a solid .274, 13, 36 slash line. He’s just 27, but he already has a World Series ring, NL MVP and NL Rookie of the Year award to his credit. Perhaps 2019 will see another trophy, and more plaudits added to the collection.
Elsewhere, catcher Willson Contreras leads the club in on base percentage at .398 while putting up a very impressive OPS of .962 and a stellar batting average of .291. The Cubs are also getting good power production numbers from Kyle Schwarber, but they need the left fielder to cut down on his strike outs and hopefully reach base with greater frequency. All in all though, it’s been a fun season to watch for Cubs fans, and the rest of 2019 looks promising.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.