Cubs: 3 way-too-early overreactions to the team’s first 5 games

3 way-too-early Cubs overreactions: Nick Madrigal can’t cut it as a big leaguer

Seriously, I don’t understand the thinking of a large swathe of Cubs fans. Nick Madrigal is off to a slow start at the plate, sure, but why would you throw the towel in already on a guy who’s never hit below .300 – dating all the way back to his high school days.

That’s right. Not in high school. Not in college. Not in the minors. Not in his admittedly brief body of work in the big leagues. This is a guy who was a first-round pick for a reason. Not one, but two front offices (at the very least) seem to think so given the White Sox drafted him and the Cubs traded a future Hall of Fame closer for him last summer.

Going 1 for your first 15 in your first week with a new team is hardly the first impression one hopes to make. But here we are. Madrigal just hasn’t found his footing at the plate and it’s really shown. But if you dig into the metrics just a bit, you see that he’s suffered through a bit of tough luck, as well.

He’s hitting the ball harder and finding the sweet spot more than he ever did with the Sox – the results just aren’t there yet. I’m not writing off someone with this track record over a cold 15 plate appearances to start the year and neither should you.