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Chicago Cubs: Injuries, inconsistency marred Kris Bryant’s 2018 season
KRIS BRYANT. B. . 3B/OF. Chicago Cubs
For the first time in his young career, Chicago Cubs standout Kris Bryant battled true adversity. Despite this, he still found a way to help the North Siders.
When people look back at Kris Bryant and his 2018 performance for the Chicago Cubs, a few words will come to mind. Powerless. Injury-marred. Frustrating. The third baseman struggled to find a rhythm after suffering injuries early in the year and his final numbers show this.
The lasting image burned into fans’ minds? Likely watching Bryant get low-90s fastballs pumped past him in the National League Wild Card game loss to the Colorado Rockies. He clearly wasn’t the guy who turned around such pitches in recent years – despite what he or the team said about his status at that point.
Nobody needs to worry about Kris Bryant, though. Despite finishing with the worst statistical season of his career, he still found a way to produce at a respectable rate, posting a 2.3 WAR in the process. His season should not be considered a failure, despite the challenges.
Chicago Cubs: Struggling to find consistency
If you ask Kris Bryant, he’ll undoubtedly acknowledge his major inconsistencies this past season. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The good news? It’s the first time in his young career he’s struggled like this, truly battling to keep his head above water.
Through May, Bryant was arguably en route to the best season of his career. But then, the script flipped and injuries took center stage.
Bryant was hit in the head in an early season matchup against the Colorado Rockies. Then, midway through the regular season, Bryant hit the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, causing him to miss the entirety of August. Finally, Bryant was hit on the hand by a pitch, causing him to miss another game.
Playing in only 102 games this season, Bryant could not find the consistency he hoped for, struggling on the power front mainly, finishing with just 13 home runs and a career-low .460 slugging percentage. His strikeouts increased too, as he reached his highest strikeout percentage since his rookie season in 2015.
Bryant saw an increase in his soft contact percentage as well, moving from 14.8 to 18.9 percent. His hard contact percentage dropped, albeit slightly, presenting a further challenge on that power front. The 2016 National League MVP did see an increase in the amount of split-fingered fastballs he was thrown, seeing a major decrease in his runs above average when seeing that pitch. He also struggled mightily seeing curveballs this past season, as his overall runs above average decreased in a big way.
Finally, Bryant saw a decrease in his overall contact percentage, both inside the strike zone as well as outside. His swinging strike rate? Yep, that was up, too. To say the least, it wasn’t the ideal season for Kris Bryant or Chicago Cubs fans.
Chicago Cubs: Above-average production
Many people’s understanding of success rests on how many home runs a player hits, how many runs they drive in or, God forbid, how high their batting average is at season’s end. Forget all of that. Yes, Bryant saw the worst statistical season of his career, but it was not a failed campaign.
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In the most critical stats which should be seen as the central tenet of a player’s overall success, Bryant had a successful season. He finished with above-average numbers in wOBA, wRC+, and WAR. Bryant finished with a very respectable .359 wOBA, 125 wRC+ and, as previously mentioned, a 2.3 WAR.
To the average fan’s mind, Bryant’s season was not a success. The overall power numbers failed to manifest and the struggle to stay healthy certainly hurt his level of production. That being said, even at the lowest moments of his career to this point, Bryant still produced, and it should be noted as such.
Final thoughts
Bryant struggled for the first time in his career. The glass half full understanding is that, despite the downturn in his offense, the Chicago Cubs still finished with 95 wins. When Bryant is healthy, he produces. Wrigleyville should not have any worries moving forward.
Next. Nico Hoerner voted into AFL Fall Stars Game. dark
Bryant can put this season behind him and look toward a healthy productive 2019 season, hopefully, capped with a second World Series title in the last four years.
Seasons such as this happen, and it is completely fine. The Cubs slugger bouncing back and responding in the way I anticipate is absolutely essential. I believe, as do most Cubs fans, that Kris Bryant will find his groove once again and bounce back in a huge way.