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3 Chicago Cubs who performed better than expected in 2023
Looking back at key statistics of the 2023 MLB season and analyzing three Chicago Cubs who performed better than they were expected to.
With the 2023 season in the rearview, it will be vital for the Chicago Cubs front office to build on what they started last winter. They have the key pieces in place in Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner, and Ian Happ. With Justin Steele in the rotation, along with several good pitching pieces behind him and a plethora of prospects along the way, the Cubs are set up to build on 2023 and expect 2024 to be the year they make it back to the Postseason.
Furthermore, they can identify who exceeded expectations this season and who is a surefire bet to make the roster next season. Let's go ahead and briefly dive into three Chicago Cubs who exceeded expectations in 2023.
3 Cubs who performed better than expected - 3. Cody Bellinger
Of course, the Cubs' best offensive player would be on the list. After Jed Hoyer took a chance on a bounce-back season from Cody Bellinger, he performed incredibly for the Cubs this season, slashing .307/.356/.52 with 26 HRs and 97 RBIs. Given that he missed a month, Bellinger was well on pace for a 30/100 campaign and likely would have accomplished the feat if he played in closer to a full 162 contests. Defensively, Bellinger recorded 5 Outs Above Average and 4 Runs Prevented as a center fielder and tallied another OOA as a first baseman.
The biggest question is what it will take to land Bellinger in a Cubs uniform long-term this winter. If the team wants to refrain from regressing offensively, starting the winter by getting Bellinger locked up is a great place to start. The front office will also look to scour the trade market, and locking Bellinger up will prove difficult, and other teams figure to be in hot pursuit as well. With Scott Boras as his agent, don't be surprised if it turns into a long, drawn-out process.
3 Cubs who performed better than expected - 2. Adbert Alzolay
At the start of the 2023 campaign, nobody envisioned the breakout season that was in store for Adbert Alzolay. In 64 frames, Alzolay recorded a stellar 2.64 ERA, along with 22 saves. His ERA+ of 168 was 68% better than the league average, and his FIP of 3.02 suggests he wasn't that lucky but instead was just about as dominant as it looked. Moving Forward, Alzolay still has three years of arbitration on his contract before reaching free agency.
Alzolay missed most of 2022 due to injury but returned, recording a 3.38 ERA (1.91 FIP) in 13.1 IP. After the season he just had this year, he's a lock to make the roster next spring. It will be interesting to see if Jed Hoyer and the front office keep him in the closing role or go after a closer in free agency who has more experience slamming the door in tight ballgames. Regardless, Alzolay is now a core piece of this team, and whatever role he serves next season, we're sure he will dominate.
3 Cubs who performed better than expected - 1. Seiya Suzuki
Once the trade deadline hit, it appeared Seiya Suzuki was not working out offensively for the Cubs. Then, David Ross benched him, igniting a two-month spark that saw Suzuki perform as one of the best baseball players in the second half of the season. Let's quickly compare the first half and second half for Suzuki:
First Half: .259/.342/.405, .147 ISO, 105 wRC+
Second Half: .313/.372/.566, .257 ISO, 149 wRC+
It was just a complete night and day difference for Suzuki in the second half. For the season, he finished at .285/.357/.485, 126 wRC+, and a 3.2 WAR, according to Fangraphs. Realistically, I was hoping for Suzuki to land around .260, with 20 HRs, 70 RBIs, and the 115-120 wRC+ mark, and the struggles towards the midway point of the season almost derailed that. Still, the tear he went on in August and September was enough to catapult him back to that 126 mark, or 26% better than the league average for the season.
He finished with 20 HRs and 74 RBIs, but that doesn't account for any other stats he would have accumulated if not for starting the year on the IL with an oblique strain. Who knows how many home runs he would have hit if he had that time back, or how many more runs he would have driven in? He was on pace for closer to 80-85 RBIs throughout an entire season. The batting average and on-base percentage were both incredibly impressive, and it's clear that he is a core piece of this team moving forward.
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