Cubs hoping Christopher Morel's game-winning blast can get him back on track

It had been 16 games since Chicago Cubs slugger Christopher Morel last hit a home run. In the 8th inning of a pitcher's duel against the New York Mets, Morel gave the Cubs the lead on a mammoth no-doubter that sailed 402 feet to left field. The blast wound up being the game-winner as the team took game one of the four-game set, but more importantly, it was a confidence boost for Morel, who the team desperately needs to get hot right now.

Slashing .151/.258/.245 in his past 15 games, Morel has been nonexistent in the Cubs' lineup for the past 2.5 weeks. We've seen Morel hit home runs in bunches in the past, and now is the perfect time for him to continue that trend while critical injuries to Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger have created a hole in the heart of the team's batting order.

You heard Boog Scambi and Jim Deshaies talk about it during the game: pitchers are starting to attack Morel inside more. While his expected stats are still sufficient, certain numbers have dipped from last season.

Inside Christopher Morel's recent struggles

For example, his hard-hit rate is down 5% from last year, which isn't terrible, but so is his batting percentage. More importantly, I've noticed that his batting average on the three pitches he hit best is down from a season ago:

Slider batting average in 2024: .319
Slider batting average in 2023: .211

Sinker batting average in 2024: .261
Sinker batting average in 2024: .394

Fastball batting average in 2024: .158
Fastball batting average in 2023: .205

On the bright side, Morel's K% is 21.4%, a solid increase from last season's 31%. Some advanced stats from Morel make it easy to see why the team shouldn't be very alarmed just yet. My money is on the incoming resurgence at the plate, as Morel has had enough major league ABs to this point in his career to adjust and find a way to prove he can still produce at the major league level. If he breaks back out, it will be a massive jolt to this Cubs offense, especially once their injured stars return to the lineup.

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