Who’s hot, who’s not for the Chicago Cubs heading into the week

Heading into the final two games of the road trip before returning to Wrigley Field for a lengthy homestand, the Chicago Cubs offense is a mixed bag.

On the heels of a 15-inning marathon win to secure a series victory in Arizona Sunday night, the Chicago Cubs enjoy a much-needed off-day on Monday before opening a brief two-game stint against the Seattle Mariners.

Chicago (14-12) enter Monday’s off-day just 2 1/2 games back of the first-place St. Louis Cardinals, who have somewhat quietly gotten off to a strong 17-10 start in the month of April. Their success is largely a credit to an offense that has the highest batting average (.269) in the National League.

The Cubs welcome their longtime rivals to Wrigley Field this weekend for a three-game set that will kick off a long stretch of action at home for Joe Maddon‘s ballclub. But before that matchup takes center stage, Chicago has to take care of a Seattle team that came out of the gates scorching hot, but has since cooled, playing .500 ball over their last 10 contests.

Maddon’s club racked up 18 runs in the three games against the Diamondbacks (granted, the third contest did go 15 innings) – but is yet to get solid contribution up and down the lineup card on a regular basis. Some guys are hot, others are looking to find their footing early in 2019 and some seem to be a mixed bag, at best.