Analytics prove what fans already knew: the Chicago Cubs are fun to watch

Cubs fall short in surprising areas based on what I recall from last season

Catches - 3

4-and-5-star catches were based on Baseball Savant data that looks at how many catches were made in 2023 that a player had a 0-50% likelihood of catching.

This number struck me as shockingly low, but perhaps that’s based on the Mike Tauchman catch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth at Busch Stadium last season that’s still burned into my memory. 

Big Homers - 1

These are 425-plus foot home runs and it shouldn’t come as a shock to see that the Cubs don’t rank highly here. Cody Bellinger has had well-documented problems with exit velocity due to a change in approach at the plate, Christopher Morel has had well-documented problems making consistent contact, and Seiya Suzuki didn’t hit his stride until the end of last season.

I expect this to be an area the Cubs improve upon greatly this season. Suzuki appears more comfortable at the plate, Morel is clobbering baseballs and Alexander Canario and Owen Caissie are just a phone call away in Iowa to add some thump to this lineup if need be.