The thing about having two catchers who can really hit is that you’ll be tempted to work them into the lineup at the same time. The upside is getting both bats in the lineup, but the risk is that something happens to one or both over the course of the first few innings.
Fortunately for the Cubs, they’ve got an emergency catcher on the roster who is really more of a true third catcher in Kyle Schwarber, so they can afford to be much more cavalier about the deployment of both big-batted catchers.
So it was yesterday, when Alex Avila got the start behind the plate, and the blistering hot Willson Contreras moved out to left field and continued hitting cleanup. The decision proved a very good one.
Catching Avila paid immediate dividends, as he hit his first Cubs homer in the first inning:
Be good to the Friendly Confines, and the Friendly Confines will be good to you. pic.twitter.com/64yQ2O7gxr
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 5, 2017
That thing was a laser, getting out faster than the center fielder could have even gotten back on it. You’re expecting to wait a moment or two for the ball to come down, and then it’s already popping out of the basket.
Later, Contreras joined the mix, ripping a no-doubter to left:
Contreras: District of Contreras. pic.twitter.com/Zz2SI9bk7N
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 5, 2017
That was Contreras’s 19th homer on the year, and third in the last three games. He’s been so hot for so long that it’s hard to even decide where to set the cutoff to say “he’s doing this since then,” but how about since mid-June? .327/.396/.673.
It’s funny. Contreras’s looks like an absolute bomb, while Avila’s only barely got out, but such is the layout of Wrigley – Contreras’s wasn’t that much further, and Avila hit his harder:
— Cubs Exit Velocity (@cubsexitvelo) August 5, 2017
— Cubs Exit Velocity (@cubsexitvelo) August 5, 2017