A critical Cubs slugger is coming back to life just in time for the postseason

No Chicago Cubs hitter was hotter than outfielder Seiya Suzuki in the first half of the season. His second half, however, has been the polar opposite as he’s battled a deep slump. The good news is that over the last week there have been signs of his bat finally coming back to life. With just three games remaining in the regular season, Suzuki getting back on track couldn’t possibly come at a better time.

Suzuki’s season has been a tale of two extremes. In the first half, the Cubs outfielder hit .263 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI. These gaudy numbers had many thinking Suzuki could drive in 120+ runs over the course of the season. His second half performance, however, hasn’t lived up to those lofty projections.

Seiya Suzuki has completely disappeared in the second half

If you told me that after a first half where Suzuki hit 25 bombs and drove in 77 runs that he’d hit just four home runs with 20 RBI the rest of the season, I’d have never believed you. But this is exactly what has transpired. Not only did he have a complete power outage, but his batting average also plummeted to just .207 after the All-Star break.

Up until Thursday night, Suzuki hadn’t hit a home run since August 6. In the finale against the New York Mets, he belted two in an 8-5 loss to the New York Mets. His productive night wasn’t a complete surprise though, as Suzuki has very recently shown signs of coming out of his extended slump.

Over the past seven games, Suzuki is hitting .261 with a .929 OPS. While six hits in seven games isn’t overly impressive, the fact that four of the six hits were extra-base hits is, indeed, promising. He has also squared the ball up a lot more recently, which leads me to believe that it’s only a matter of time before we see results. His aforementioned multi-home run, four-RBI game could have been a real turning point back to productivity for Suzuki.

With the Cubs set to make their first postseason appearance since 2020, Suzuki is a crucial part of the offense. We’ve all seen the team’s offensive struggles for much of the second half of this season, and it’s no coincidence that Suzuki has been a non-factor in most of these instances. If the Cubs are going to go on a deep October run, Suzuki driving in runs like he did early in the summer will be a recipe for success.