Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo and his consistency is key moving forward

Chicago Cubs: A disappointing start to the season

Rizzo had an April to forget. The first baseman posted an atrocious 32 wRC+ in the first month of the year. His .149/.259/.189 slash is one he’ll likely never want to see again. It was his worst April since 2016 when he batted .219. However, he still slugged eight home runs that month. In comparison, Rizzo hit one home run this April, which ironically was his only extra-base hit of the month, too.

The Cubs managed to stay the course though despite the horrific weather they experienced in Chicago. As temperatures got warmer, so did the Cubs slugger.

On May 1, Joe Maddon inserted Rizzo into the leadoff spot for the first time of the season and he took off from there. He launched a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning in an eventual 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field. For the next two months, Rizzo spent time all over the first four spots of the lineup.

He was much better going into the All-Star break slashing .276/.366/.473 from May 1 to July 15. He hit 11 home runs, drove in 30 runs and posted a 122 wRC+ in that span. Despite his slow start in April, the Cubs entered the break with the best record in the National League.

Chicago Cubs: Making history atop the batting order

In the final series before the break, the Cubs traveled to San Diego for a three-game set with the Padres.

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The Cubs swept the series with Rizzo batting in the leadoff position and ending the first half on a tear. He went 6-for-15 with three doubles, two runs scored and two runs batted in. That play carried over as soon as the Cubs began their second-half surge.

Maddon again put Rizzo in the leadoff spot for 24 straight contests post-All-Star Break. During that stretch, Rizzo batted .319, slugged .538 and hit a walk-off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks the back half of back-to-back home runs in a ninth-inning comeback at Wrigley.

While Rizzo got back to being himself, the rest of the Cubs offense was spiraling to the finish line. Injuries plagued the Cubs with Kris Bryant out until early September.

Other players like Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber struggled down the stretch, leaving gaping holes in what most expected to be a potent Cubs lineup.

Chicago Cubs: Looking at the big picture

In total, Rizzo slashed .329/.420/.550 in the second half of the season. He hit 13 home runs and drove in 36 runs in that span while posting strikeout and walk rates of 11 percent respectively. The Cubs needed every bit of his contributions in all facets of the game near season’s end.

While the Cubs were unable to win the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals made a second-half surge, winning 22 games in August and making the division race interesting all the way until the end of the season with Milwaukee trending closely all season.

If the Cubs don’t have his contributions, at the end of the day, they’re probably not playing in the NL Wild Card game and might have finished behind both St. Louis and Milwaukee in the standings.

Rizzo hit a game-tying solo shot against Milwaukee in the Game 163 that decided the division. He also started the eighth-inning rally in the NL Wild Card game against Colorado that led to the Cubs tying the game. But, like most of the second half, the Cubs could not score runs when they needed to and it’s why their season ended in disappointment.