NEWSLETTER
We’ll see how long it lasts, but for the last couple weeks, the Chicago Cubs have had themselves a mighty nice player in Mike Tauchman.
Michael wrote a post simply to praise the performance of Tauchman so far this year, and then Tauchman responded by adding another trio of hits to his ledger last night. He has obviously been very successful atop the Cubs’ order, and while I think the results are going to HAVE to pull back at some point, I do like the look of his plate appearances.
Tauchman, 32, is now hitting .301/.417/.373/126 wRC+ on the year, having just passed the 100 plate appearance threshold. His .381 BABIP is doing a lot of the work there, and will assuredly come down, but note that he’s also sporting a whopping 34.4% line drive rate and a .303 expected batting average. He’s kinda just doing the Luis Arraez thing where he constantly hits looping line drive singles. Not say he can KEEP doing it like Arraez has, but that’s what he’s been doing.
I do wonder what he can keep doing, though. You don’t really expect a 32-year-old, unestablished bench-type guy to come up and suddenly be a top-tier leadoff hitter.
It’s worth noting Tauchman’s career trajectory, for what it’s worth, because it adds a little color to his age and experience.
A guy who more or less always hit in the minor leagues, Tauchman got brief cups with the Rockies in 2017 and 2018, but couldn’t get a foothold. He was traded to the Yankees, and was very good in the big leagues that year at age 28 (.277/.361/.504/128 wRC+), in what would prove to be his only real full-time run in the big leagues until this season. The 2020 season was pandemic-mucked and Tauchman got only 111 PAs (in which he did not hit), and then he was traded to the Giants in early 2021. He didn’t hit in his brief big league time with the Giants (in what looks to have been some small-sample, bad BABIP luck), and went to Triple-A, where he was an above-average bat. From there, at age 31, he decided to go play in Korea and make some money, as a lot of guys do at that age/stage of their career. He was a well-above league-average bat in the KBO, and that got him a shot to come back to the States to play for his hometown Cubs team.
That’s where we are today, and I’m just looking at it and think that maybe it isn’t so crazy that he could be a solid bench guy or part-time starter in a platoon role, even as a guy who hadn’t established himself before age 32.
For his big league career, by the way, it’s not like Tauchman has been TERRIBLE at the plate: .240/.339/.377/95 wRC+ over 771 PAs.
It’s also worth reminding folks that Tauchman has had a years-long relationship with Cubs Director of Hitting Justin Stone, and it’s not that hard to imagine that the increased professional proximity there has further helped Tauchman be the best version of himself. A huge and sustainable breakout like this at age 32? No, probably not. Like I said, there’s probably going to be some performance pullback. But maybe this is Tauchman at his most comfortable, most supported, and most regularly staying on top of whatever swing tweaks are necessary.
Overall, I think this is still a “ride the wave” situation, rather than “make plans” situation. If Tauchman starts to fall off for a while, and Cody Bellinger’s knee feels good to go, then maybe you move Bellinger back out to center field and figure out first base. Until and unless that happens, though, I think you keep on starting Tauchman and leading him off.
