3 Cubs Players Who Need To Break Out Of Their Funk
Chicago's trade deadline strategy hinges on a crucial six-week stretch. To become aggressive buyers, the North Siders need immediate turnarounds from struggling stars Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson.
Video Transcript
What is up, Cubs fans?
And welcome back to Cubs Roundtable.
I'm Joey Polizzi, talking about all things Cubs.
And how the Cubs perform from now until the August 3rd trade deadline will be pivotal in how aggressive the front office is in acquiring pieces.
If the Cubs wanna emerge as big-time buyers, three players in particular must break out of their recent funk.
These three players have all struggled recently and haven't provided much for this team.
The first player is Nico Hoerner.
Hoerner gives you that, that contact hitter, the guy who always gets on base.
But over the last month and a half, two months, he has not been that type of hitter.
Since being hit in the head by a pitch back all the way on April 29th, Hoerner's stats have taken a noticeable dip.
His batting average sits at just 233 on the season, and overall, he has not been a great hitter for this Cubs team.
Could the hit by pitch have something to do with it?
Who knows, but it is noticeable that Hoerner has under a 180 batting average since being hit in the head back on April 29th.
The second player that needs to break out of this funk is Dansby Swanson.
It's clear that the Cubs are gonna continue to roll with Dansby Swanson at shortstop.
They're not gonna ha- put him into more of a reserve role.
They're gonna keep starting him at shortstop, so Swanson has to break out of this funk.
He has been one of the worst all-around qualified hitters in baseball this season with a 176 batting average, and he has been even worse as of late as he has a 137 batting average over his last 32 games since the beginning of May.
So Swanson hasn't been great.
Strikeout rate continues to be a problem, and he cannot hit with runners in scoring position, but he needs to bounce back because when he's in a groove, it makes this Cubs offense that much more dangerous.
And the last player that needs to break out of his funk is Caleb Theobald.
The Cubs resigned Theobald to be that reliable left-handed reliever out of the bullpen, but that hasn't been the case as of late, as Theobald has over a five ERA over his last 12 relief appearances.
He has allowed runs in three of his last seven appearances, and he has not been that reliable left-handed reliever.
So he has to break out of this funk because also when he's on his game, the Cubs bullpen is that much more dangerous as well.
But let me know what you guys think about these three players and funks.
Do you think they'll break out of it soon?
Let me know down below.
And as always, guys, go Cubs go.
