3 players who have to improve for the Chicago Cubs to have a shot in 2024

It's been feast or famine for Christopher Morel in the early going

Christopher Morel seems to be heating back up, with four home runs in his last 7 games, but the overall numbers aren't great. The hope with Bellinger and Suzuki sidelined was that Morel would step up to be a formidable middle-of-the-order run producer, but it's been hit or miss.

On the year, he's barely hitting .200 and has an on-base percentage south of .300. He's cut down the strikeouts considerably, but his barrel rate has also plummeted year-over-year. The expectation heading into the season was the defense would be shaky, but the offense would make it a worthwhile trade-off. That hasn't been the case - at least not consistently.

He's definitely looking more comfortable at the hot corner, which is good news. But Counsell needs him to be a threat at the plate regularly, and avoid the peaks and valleys that have defined his 2024 campaign to this point. If he can do that, the offense could really round into form heading into the summer months,