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Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant is in one of the toughest slumps of his career

By Jacob Chatfield

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 05: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs at bat during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Cubs defeated the Brewers 8-0. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 05: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs at bat during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Cubs defeated the Brewers 8-0. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Just as the Chicago Cubs offense started finding consistency, Kris Bryant fell into his first slump of the year. The Cubs have been fine even with Bryant’s struggles, so far, but they can’t survive without him all year.

It was April 22nd when Kris Bryant took a fastball to the head, startling Chicago Cubs and baseball fans alike. After missing six days of play, Bryant returned to take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. There was speculation about whether or not Bryant would be comfortable at the plate after taking a pitch to the noggin. If you were expecting a slump from Bryant in 2018, that would’ve seemed like the time to put your money down on. But the slump didn’t come then.

From his return on April 28th until May 23rd, Bryant posted a wRC+ of 157. His OPS was .964 and he was hitting .278 in those weeks. Concerns about Bryant’s mentality at the plate following a potentially traumatic HBP were triumphantly relieved. And then the slump came.

Since May 23rd, Bryant’s OPS is down to .586. He’s slugging just .276 and hasn’t hit a homerun since May 14th—the longest streak without one of his career. His wRC+ is down all the way to 58.

The Cubs’ offense has carried Bryant through his down stretch—the rest of the team has had an OPS of .718 in that stretch—but they can’t do it without Bryant all season.

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What’s gone wrong for KB?

Bryant has been struggling with the tendencies that scouts likely warned about. His K% is up to 27.4% since May 23rd. He’s walking just 8.3% of the time too.

In recent years, including his MVP 2016 campaign, he seemed to be trending in the opposite direction. He struck out 19.2% of the time in 2017. In 2018, despite the last month of striking out at 27.4% of the time, his K% is still 19.3%.

The plate discipline seems to be the crux of the issue for Bryant. Even during his bad streak here, he’s still hitting .340 when he puts the ball in play—just below his career BABIP of .344.

Fortunately for Bryant and the Cubs, this won’t last forever.

Everybody slumps sometimes

Paul Goldschmidt—one of the best first basemen in MLB—hit .144 in the month of May. His wRC+ was 48. His OPS was just .531. So far in June, he’s hitting .477 with an OPS of 1.558.

Anthony Rizzo—another one of the best first basemen in MLB—hit .149 in his first 18 games of 2018. His OPS was under .500 at .448. Since then, he’s hit .295 with an OPS of .958.

The point is, everybody slumps. It’s a 162 game season and even the best will succumb to fatigue or general under-performances throughout.

Next: Cubs should stay quiet at deadline

Kris Bryant’s had a rough go of it over the last month or so. But Cubs’ fans still have every reason to expect he’ll be a big part of their pursuit to be division champions down the stretch.

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