Seiya Suzuki swinging a hot bat as the Cubs close the road trip with a series sweep

The Chicago Cubs scored 35 runs on 41 hits, drawing 20 walks and seeing 600 pitches in their three-game sweep of the Athletics in Sacramento. Designated hitter Seiya Suzuki was at the center of that barrage, blasting three home runs with nine RBI, seven hits and two walks. Two of the home runs he hit were three-run shots, and both of those had an exit velocity over 110 MPH.

Suzuki had struggled mightily out of the gate this year, hitting just .095/.136/.143 over his first 22 plate appearances with two hits, one walk, no RBI and 11 strikeouts. He looked lost and was turning in a lot of those half-swings that said his timing was off. But he turned it on in Arizona on Sunday when he hit his first long-ball of the season and also pickup up his first RBI and multi-hit game in the process. It's also ssafe to say he stayed locked in against the A's.

The start to his 2025 campaign has more or less summed up his career as a big-league hitter. Over the past two years (2023-24), Suzuki as put up very solid numbers, cumulatively hitting .284/.361/.484 with 41 homers, 147 RBI and 133 wRC+ in 1,168 plate appearances. He has been right on that cusp of being considered "elite" in the general sense, but maybe just a hair or two short. Suzuki's production is very good overall, but one thing that has been consistent with him is inconsistency. When he is locked in, he looks like an All-Star, but he tends to have notable rough patches, like we saw to start the year. It's easy to tell when he is locked in or not by his confidence in attacking the right pitches early and overall approach at the plate, especially in key spots.

Yes, every hitter has slumps over a long season, but Suzuki has had some particularly rough slumps at times. Remember in mid-2023 when David Ross benched him to hit the reset button? It also does not help that he has had some nagging injuries, which may have contributed to some of those rough stretches in the past. The good thing is that whether injured or going through a tough time, he always bounces back, just like he did over the past four days.

Cubs fans would love to see Suzuki take that step to being a recognized All-Star. There's no question: the talent is there. The 30-year-old has firmly established himself as a quality player and a smart signing by the front office. Staying fully healthy and playing with Kyle Tucker hitting ahead of him in the lineup is a path to reach that next level.