Seiya Suzuki has arrived. The Chicago Cubs right fielder has been playing like a bonafide star and he’s been carrying the offense for the past six weeks. Suzuki went 3-for-4, with a home run and three RBI, leading the Cubs to a 6-0 win on Friday over the Colorado Rockies and ever since his brief benching in August, the Japanese-born outfielder has been one of the best hitters in baseball.
There’s no doubt that Cody Bellinger put the Cubs on his back in July, but since Aug. 9, Suzuki has been the top hitter on the squad and it’s not even close. Following his three-hit game on Friday, Suzuki is now up to a 3.1 fWAR, with a slash line of 281/.351/.484 and 124 wRC+ in his second season with the Cubs.
Cubs Core Since Aug. 9
Seiya Suzuki: 190 wRC+, 2.3 fWAR, .353/.407/.700
Nico Hoerner: 116 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR, .314/.392/.373
Ian Happ: 115 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR, .252/.335/.458
Cody Bellinger: 112 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR, .266/.310/.500
Dansby Swanson: 83 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR, .226/.297/.374
During this stretch, Suzuki has gone 53-for-150 at the plate and out of those 53 hits, more than half, 27, have been extra-base hits, 11 home runs, 13 doubles and 3 triples. What an incredible turnaround for Suzuki, who looked completely lost during his two-month slump heading into August.
And ever since Suzuki returned to his every-day starting spot, he’s been near the top of the MLB leaderboard for all hitters. From Aug. 9, through Sept. 22, Suzuki ranks second among all MLB hitters with a 190 wRC+, only trailing Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, who has a 196 wRC+ during the past six weeks.
Now, as much as it’s been awesome to see Suzuki play like the star the Cubs had in mind, it’s been equally annoying seeing him buried down in the lineup, while David Ross has continued to bat a struggling Swanson behind Bellinger.
Well, for Saturday’s game, Ross has flipped Swanson and Suzuki in the middle of the lineup.
Cubs Lineup (9/23)
Mike Tauchman
Nico Hoerner
Ian Happ
Cody Bellinger
Seiya Suzuki
Dansby Swanson
Christopher Morel
Yan Gomes
Miles Mastrobuoni
The Cubs begin Saturday with a one-game lead over the Miami Marlins for the third Wild Card spot.
