NEWSLETTER
On August 12, 2018, David Bote hit one of the most memorable grand slams you’ll ever see. Down by three with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the 9th inning, Bote cleared the bases with an absolute bomb to straight away center field, giving the Cubs a 4-3 win over the Nationals.
Almost exactly 2 years later, Bote delivered yet again.
The stakes may not have been quite as high this time around – down two runs, two runners on, penultimate inning, etc. – but after losing the first leg of the double-header to the Cardinals (after dropping three straight to the Brewers) and missing nearly every opportunity to do anything at all on offense, Bote’s home run felt like that first full breath of air after diving into water head first:
We're gonna need a bigger ⛵️. pic.twitter.com/ZNnq8DVzYk
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 18, 2020
Statcast had the homer at 104.8 MPH off the bat and a massive 434 feet out to dead center. It also helped drag Bote’s overall slash line to a technically above average .209/.306/.442 (102 wRC+) … it’s early in a weird year. That’s 2% above average right now.
To be fair, while Bote’s slash line isn’t particularly impressive just yet, his peripherals are pretty close to career bests across the board. His fly ball rate is up, ground ball rate is down, he’s using the opposite field more than ever, and he’s got a 48.1% hard-hit rate. In fact, his 95.3 MPH average velocity is in the top 2%(!) of the league and his 16.7% barrel% is in the top 8%. Combined with a career high launch angle, Statcast has his expected wOBA up at .331 even though his actual wOBA is still down at .296. Huge difference.
At the end of the day all there is to say is …
David Bote is Clutch. @obvious_shirts pic.twitter.com/5f6YFYxKNT
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) August 18, 2020
That Bote stare-down is glorious. pic.twitter.com/CgiZN8fRUR
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 18, 2020
Welp, Bote pinch-hitting for Vic. I guess offer still stands.
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 18, 2020
I LOVE VICTOR CARATINI (and David Bote) pic.twitter.com/AZYoaBWIz3
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 18, 2020
