Cubs riding a red-hot Nick Madrigal in the month of June

Even in the immediate aftermath of the Dansby Swanson signing last offseason, I believed Nick Madrigal could still play a critical role for the 2023 Cubs. After a slow offensive start, I had my doubts - but lately, the former first-rounder has gotten back to what got him here: putting the bat on the ball at a ridiculous rate.

Since the start of June, Madrigal is batting .356/.453/.444 with four walks to just six strikeouts in 56 plate appearances. After a tough month of May, the infielder seems to have figured something out at the plate and is inching ever closer to a 100 OPS+ on the season. I know that seems like a baseline expectation, but given how bad he looked at the dish last month, there were real concerns his time with the team were winding down.

Patrick Wisdom, after his insane power display to open the year, has fallen off a cliff. Even prior to his current IL stint, he had fallen out of favor given his swing-and-miss tendencies. Thankfully, that lined up fairly well with the emergence of Christopher Morel. But with the injury to Cody Bellinger, Morel slid back into a utility role, which opened up more regular at-bats for Madrigal.

Cubs getting peak Nick Madrigal and his elite bat-to-ball skills

When Madrigal is at his best, he puts himself in advantageous counts - and we've seen more and more of that from him as the season has progressed. When he's ahead in the count this year, he's got an .821 OPS and even when the count is even, he checks in at .812. He's been working at-bats well here in June and has forced his way back into the picture as the first half winds down.

There's no doubt he made the most of his stint back down in Iowa - carrying that momentum back with him to Chicago. Since returning from Triple-A, he's raised his average by 43 points, recorded four multi-hit games (including both of the games against the Phillies this week) and has gone hitless in just four contests.

With the Cubs looking to get back to the .500 mark and back in the postseason picture, it's going to take all hands on deck. Having Madrigal doing what he does when he's at his best and putting the ball in play is a major arrow. in the quiver of manager David Ross.