3 Cubs players not named PCA who closed out April on absolute heaters at the plate

The Chicago Cubs will enjoy a scheduled off day Thursday, closing out a tumultuous month of April that saw them stumble out of the gates, get hit by injury after injury and then flip the script with a 10-game winning streak that quickly got their season back on track.

It's been a ride - and we're only one month into the 2026 MLB season.

A big reason the team was able to overcome the season-ending injury to Cade Horton (not to mention the recent bad news on Justin Steele, who will now be out until some time in the second half) and the merry-go-round of relievers shuttling back and forth from Iowa is the balanced offensive approach that saw a number of guys step up.

But as we turn the page to May, here are three guys (other than Pete Crow-Armstrong) flying high at the plate for the North Siders.

3 Cubs players firing on all cylinders at the plate heading into May

Moises Ballesteros

You could easily make the case that Moises Ballesteros was the Cubs' MVP in April. Despite an 0-for-5 effort in Wednesday's finale against the Padres, the rookie slashed .338/.392/.620 - good for a 180 wRC+. Who needs Kyle Tucker when you have Mo Baller?

His elite bat-to-ball skills were on full display all month. He struck out less than 16 percent of the time, and it wasn't just making contact - Ballesteros was driving the ball all over the diamond, ranking in the 97th percentile in hard-hit rate and piling up 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs.

Over the team's last 15 games, Ballesteros was the proud owner of an 1.137 OPS, with seven of his 11 hits going for extra bases. A dark-horse contender for NL Rookie of the Year honors, the 22-year-old DH/catcher is off to a scorching start.

Dansby Swanson

It doesn't sound like the glute cramp he experienced on April 28 and kept him out of the finale against the Padres the next day is anything serious. Craig Counsell expects him in the lineup on Friday against Arizona at Wrigley - and that's good news for a Cubs team that's already had more than its fair share of injuries.

Over the last two weeks, the veteran shortstop has seen his batting average trend upward, slashing .279/.365/.558 with 14 RBI. That stretch raises him to a 120 wRC+ on the season, and the hope is the average keeps ticking up - even with this recent run, he's batting just .214, although his .344 OBP is 44 points above where he finished 2025.

Swanson trails only Nico Hoerner in runs batted in and is tied for 10th in the NL in that category. The Gold Glove veteran has been huge for the Cubs in the early-going, plain and simple.

Seiya Suzuki

After an injury sustained in the World Baseball Classic delayed the start of his 2026 season, Seiya Suzuki got off to a slow start initially, but once he locked in, he's been a monster offensively.

On the year, the slugging outfielder is slashing .328 /.430/.567 with a 180 wRC+ while walking at a 12.7 percent clip that, if sustained over the course of a full season, would be a new career-best. His chase rate is down and he's absolutely obliterating mistakes.

In the final season of the five-year deal he signed with the Cubs ahead of the 2022 season, could we be in store for Suzuki's best offensive season yet? He's certainly gotten off on the right foot.

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