Cubs: Patrick Wisdom is heating up after a strong weekend showing

So far in the still-young 2022 season, some Cubs have struggled but are slowly coming into their own as they get rolling. One of them is third baseman Patrick Wisdom. It is hard to deny that Wisdom’s 2021 tenure was something to remember. Wisdom has elite power – evidenced by his setting the team’s rookie home run record last year, but his strikeouts were concerning and made fans question if his success would continue.

Fast forward to 2022, though there isn’t a large sample size, Wisdom has struggled. But over the weekend, we saw major signs of improvement that show Wisdom might be poised to turn the corner and become a key piece of the Cubs’ offensive puzzle.

Chicago Cubs: Patrick Wisdom will bounce back sooner rather than later

Last year, Wisdom slashed .231/.305/.518 with 28 homers and 61 RBI. He came out of the gate scorching hot – but the strikeouts quickly piled up, and he ended the year with a whopping 153 punchouts in just 375 plate appearances. When he was hitting the ball out of the yard, people looked past the strikeouts – but when he slowed down, that strikeout rate garnered a ton of attention.

As I said, Wisdom had a very slow start to the 2022 season, but might be turning the corner. Entering Friday’s game, the third baseman was slashing .048/.087/.048. Before Saturday, Wisdom discussed his early-season struggles with Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Not only was he self-aware of his lack of production, but he spoke very maturely about the situation.

“The clubhouse knows what I’m capable of — the hitter I am,” Wisdom said. “They know the process and they understand that this game is hard. And 20 at-bats don’t define me.

Even after discussing his hardships, Wisdom was already getting back on track, just as skipper David Ross said he would. Wisdom left Saturday’s game owning a .222/.241/.370 slash line. If that isn’t enough, after Sunday’s 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Denver, he is now slashing .233/.394/.694. Talk about quick improvement.

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If things keep trending in this direction, the all-or-nothing slugger will be back to his former self in no time. Wisdom is the kind of hitter filled with power that can ride streaks. From the looks of it, Chicago Cubs fans will be seeing Wisdom get more comfortable at the dish, and some jaw-dropping home runs sooner rather than later.