Among the things I find delightful to follow in a give season: huge days, and their impact on season stats. It’s kind of a silly exercise, especially in April, but it can also be a lot of fun. As someone who tries to find meaning in statistics, and to find reason in a morass of unsupported narratives, I like the idea that the “story” about a player can suddenly change because a ball went over the wall, instead of flying just two feet shorter and being caught.
The latest huge day for the Cubs came yesterday from Starlin Castro, who has, to my eye, looked like a much improved batter this year*, even if the numbers weren’t quite reflecting it. And, in one day, he turned so much of that on its head, going 3-4 with two homers.
Going into the game, Castro was hitting .272/.302/.370, with an OPS+ of 84 (the league average hitter was hitting 16% better than he was). The three hits lifted his batting average 20 points, and his OBP climbed 18 points.
The homers, though, really exploded his slugging percentage, which rose 78(!) points to .448. His line now reads .292/.320/.448, which looks damn good for a shortstop. And, hey, even after the error yesterday, he’s still showing positive defensive value.
His OPS+ climbed all the way up to 110 (league average is now 10% worse than Castro). By the way: Castro’s career best OPS+ is 111, in 2011.
Castro’s wOBA is up to .335 (league average, without pitchers included, is .314), and his wRC+ is up to 111.
Castro’s walk rate is down quite a bit at only 4.0%, but his strikeout rate is also down to 13.0%, the best mark of his career, and way down from last year’s 18.3%. His .156 ISO is also a career best.
*(And it isn’t just my eyes – Castro’s line drive rate this year is up to 25.3%, only 0.1% behind Anthony Rizzo for the team lead. That figure is up nearly 6 percentage points from last year, and is a full 5 points better than his career average. So far, Castro is hitting the ball with authority more frequently than he ever has before.)
(Thanks to Section 503 for grabbing the useful Castro screenshot for meme-ifying.)
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
For the second straight night, the Cubs are jumping all over the Astros in the first inning. After a couple hits from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to get things going, Michael Busch hit a sac fly, Christopher Morel walked,...
What a road it's been - continues to be - for Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis. The former top prospect was on a rocket ship to Triple-A in 2021, and then mostly lost the last two years to various injuries....
So much for all those words of optimism and negative X-rays. After colliding with the outfield wall last night, Cody Bellinger fractured his rib (Update: It's actually TWO fractured right ribs) and will hit the injured list today. Chicago Cubs...
CUBS LINEUP — The Chicago Cubs took Game 1 against the Houston Astros in convincing fashion last night. So tonight, they'll go for the quick series win against Spencer Arrighetti at Wrigley Field (it'd be a good idea to win...
Ed. Note: Since this article was published, a CT scan revealed a rib fracture for Cody Bellinger, who is now on the Injured List. You can find all the details of that news in our most recent article right here....
With Cody Bellinger headed to the Injured List with a rib fracture, the Cubs are in need of another outfielder: center field prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is coming back up to the big leagues for the second time. https://twitter.com/670TheScore/status/1783217891195625709 Crow-Armstrong, 22,...
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
In 1997, I was a miserable Chicago Cubs fan. I mean, that was true a lot of the time, but I mean it in a very specific way that year: the Cubs had started the season 0-14. They had literally...
The Milwaukee Brewers will take the field against the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-12) on Thursday. The game begins at 12:35 PM ET on BSWI, with the Brewers listed as -124 favorites on the moneyline.Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta and Pittsburgh's Mitch Keller have...
The Chicago White Sox (3-21) will try to end their six-game losing streak when they visit the Minnesota Twins (10-13) on Thursday at 1:10 PM ET on BSN. Sportsbooks consider the Twins to be -252 favorites for the contest, while...
Expect a display of power when Kyle Schwarber (6 HR) and the Philadelphia Phillies (15-10) take on Elly De La Cruz (7 HR) and the Cincinnati Reds (14-10) at Great American Ball Park at 1:10 PM ET live on BSOH....
The Boston Red Sox (14-11) and Connor Wong (2 HR in his last game) are underdogs (+133) on the moneyline for their matchup with the Cleveland Guardians (17-7) on Thursday at 1:10 PM ET on NESN.Cleveland's Triston McKenzie gets the...
The Chicago White Sox (3-21) carry a six-game losing streak into a road contest against the Minnesota Twins (10-13) at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Twins will send Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0) to...
The Seattle Mariners (12-12) face off against the Texas Rangers (13-12) on Thursday at Globe Life Field at 2:35 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Luis Castillo (1-4) for the Mariners and Andrew Heaney (0-2) for the Rangers.Mariners vs. Rangers Pitcher...
The Boston Red Sox (14-11) play on the road against the Cleveland Guardians (17-7) at Progressive Field. The matchup is set to begin at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday.The Guardians will look to Triston McKenzie (2-2) versus the Red Sox...
The Philadelphia Phillies (15-10) and the Cincinnati Reds (14-10) square off in Cincinnati on Thursday. First pitch is at 1:10 PM ET at Great American Ball Park.The Phillies will give the ball to Zack Wheeler (1-3, 2.30 ERA), who is...
The Kansas City Royals (15-10) host the Toronto Blue Jays (13-12) for a home game at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday. First pitch is at 2:10 PM ET.The Royals will give the ball to Cole Ragans (0-2, 4.32 ERA), who is...
The Houston Astros (7-18) and the Chicago Cubs (15-9) play at Wrigley Field on Thursday at 2:20 PM ET. In this contest, the Astros have the chance to end a four-game skid.The Astros will look to Justin Verlander (1-0) versus...
NEWSLETTER
