Chicago Cubs: 2 players who’ve justified team’s faith and 1 who hasn’t

Chicago Cubs: Metrics only mean so much when you’re not producing

Early in the year when he was struggling, Ian Happ was adamant that his approach was right and the results would come in time. For a bit, he was right. But lately, he’s back to struggling – and most of those struggles came when Jake Marisnick, Jason Heyward and Nico Hoerner were on the IL.

On the year, Happ is still batting below the .200 mark and over his last seven, has slashed just .154/.313/.462. Sure, he walks a ton (ranks in the 90th percentile in walk rate) but he strikes out too much and hasn’t been able to consistently translate a solid hard hit and barrel rate into results.

At the end of the day, that’s not going to get the job done. More and more, he’s looking like he’ll fall into the same bucket as fellow first-rounders Kyle Schwarber an Albert Almora with whom the team parted ways last offseason, rather than a Kris Bryant – whose resume speaks for itself.

We know that, regardless of whether or not Chicago buys or sells at the deadline, next winter is going to bring some tremendous overhaul to this roster. Happ, who is under control through 2024, should be a part of the future. But if he can’t deliver consistent results at the plate, regardless of his defensive versatility, Jed Hoyer could look to move on from Happ.

Chicago Cubs: Trevor Williams has been dead weight on this staff

Look, I don’t judge a guy for hitting the IL after having an emergency appendectomy. Totally understandable. I’m wishing Trevor Williams all the best in his recovery. But even prior to that, he’s missed the mark and has hardly been what I’d call a productive member of the starting rotation.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

The Cubs brought Williams in this offseason in hopes of helping him recapture what he showed back in 2016 with the Pirates, when he worked to a 3.11 ERA in 31 starts. But instead of him finding his footing, he’s simply carried his struggles from 2019 and 2020 into 2021, struggling to a 5.36 ERA in 10 starts.

His walk rate would be a career-high, as would his WHIP. Opponents are not only hitting him, they’re hitting him hard (just look at his max and average exit velocity numbers). Hoyer decided that, after sending Yu Darvish on his way in a trade with the Padres, he’d assemble a rotation that, hopefully, would be greater than the sum of its parts.

Instead, it’s been a roller coaster to-date, with more bad than good and the Cubs eyeing the trade deadline in need of starting rotation reinforcements. Had guys like Williams or Jake Arrieta pitched better early in the year, this team might find itself in an even stronger position approaching the summer months.

There’s still plenty of time left for these Chicago Cubs to either turn things around (Williams and Happ) or prove their performance so far hasn’t been a fluke (Wisdom). But the clock is ticking.