The Cubs had an excellent homestand, including a record-breaking eight home runs against the Cardinals.
After a 5-1 homestand that maintained their four-game lead, the Cubs will head out to play a couple of American League teams on the road this week before the All-Star break.
Here’s who’s hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.
Three up
Michael Busch, your table is more than ready
Busch had a monster week, going .565/.615/1.174 (13-for-23) over the six games with two double, four home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored.
That’s just incredible, and he very well might be named National League Player of the Week later today. He’s among the league leaders in OPS and has 3.4 bWAR — possibly on the way to having a 6 or 7 WAR season. No matter what ever happens with Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris, acquiring Busch is one of Jed Hoyer’s best trades.
Busch’s three-homer game Friday was the first by a Cub at Wrigley Field since 2013, when Dioner Navarro (!) did it. Here are the three homers [VIDEO].
Congratulations to NL All-Star Matthew Boyd
Boyd won’t win because Busch had such a monster week, but Boyd’s 12 innings, allowing two runs (1.29 ERA) with 14 strikeouts should get him a mention as one of the better NL players of the past week.
Over his last eight starts Boyd has a 1.49 ERA, 0.786 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 48⅓ innings.
More kudos to Jed Hoyer & Co. for a fantastic free-agent signing.
And let’s not forget Pete Crow-Armstrong
PCA hit .400/.444/.720 (10-for-25) over the homestand with a triple, two home runs and two stolen bases.
And that includes going 0-for-4 twice, so in the other four games he was 10-for-17 (.588).
He also continued to make amazing defensive plays, like this one Friday against the Cardinals [VIDEO].
Honorable mention to Seiya Suzuki, who hit .333/.407/.833 (8-for-24) over the six games with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. He leads MLB with 77 RBI — that’s a pace for 139.
Also, everyone here seems to like complaining about Dansby Swanson at the plate. He hit .346/.370/.462 (9-for-26) over the week with a home run and six runs scored. The complaint department, as they say, is closed.
Three down
Kyle Tucker might need a break
Tucker batted just .190/.280/.190 (4-for-21), but did score four runs and stole two bases. He had a key hit in Sunday’s blowout.
A day off might not hurt.
Matt Shaw could also use a break
Shaw hit .056/.182/.056 (1-for-18) over the six-game homestand, though he did walk three times and scored three runs. With the rest of the team providing good hitting, I think — for now — the Cubs can live with Shaw playing excellent defense at third base and batting ninth.
I still believe Shaw will eventually hit. He has at every level he’s played.
The collective bench could use an upgrade
Leaving out the two Cubs catchers, both of whom are hitting well, the other three bench players (Jon Berti, Vidal Bruján and Justin Turner) went 0-for-4 over the week. That’s a minor complaint, of course, as these players barely played (just two games each, all as defensive replacements). However, some Cubs regulars could use some time off and acquiring a better bench bat or two should be on Jed Hoyer’s radar as the trade deadline approaches.