3 important things we've learned about the Chicago Cubs at the season's 30% mark

When healthy, Cody Bellinger is setting the tone for the Cubs offense

Losing Cody Bellinger for a nice chunk of time due to a rib injury certainly offered an inauspicious start to the contract he inked with the Cubs late in the offseason, but the former Rookie of the Year and MVP has somewhat quietly been a driving force in the lineup when he's been on the field.

Bellinger leads all Cubs hitters with at least 100 plate appearances with a 133 OPS+ on the season. He's been particularly good about avoiding the strikeout (he ranks in the 86th percentile) and has been drawing plenty of walks, too. Most of his batted ball metrics are on par with what he did in his 2023 Comeback Player of the Year campaign, another promising sign.

He's been lethal at Wrigley, with an OPS north of .900 and he's really found his stroke since returning from the IL here in May, slashing .327/.377/.571. More often than not, how Bellinger goes so goes the Chicago Cubs, so if the supporting cast around him can get healthy, we could be in for another summer of Belli bombs in the bleachers at the Friendly Confines.