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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.