Ok, there are three ways to do this:
Way #1: Include the A’s Time
Since June 30th, the day Frank Schwindel had his first MLB plate appearance this year, among players with 150 plate appearances or more Schwindel ranks second in the majors in batting average (.343 vs. Brandon Crawford’s .347), is tied for 43rd in home runs (11, Salvador Perez leads with 23 and Joey Votto leads the NL with 19), is tied for 40th in RBI (33, Perez has 56 and Austin Riley leads the NL with 53), but is ninth in home runs per plate appearance (one dinger every fourteen trips to the plate) and fourth in RBI per plate appearance (one run batted in every five trips to the plate).
Way #2: Only the Cubs Time
Since July 30th, the day Frank Schwindel first batted as a Cub (what a sad day that was), Schwindel leads qualified hitters in batting average (.374), is tied for tenth in home runs (10, Perez has 16, C.J. Cron has 12 to lead the NL), and is tied for sixth in RBI (30, Perez has 38 and Cron has 36).
Way #3: Whole Season, per PA
Among all players with 150 PA’s or more this season, Frank Schwindel is the batting average leader (.343, again), is eighth in home runs per plate appearance (Mike Zunino leads, Fernando Tatís Jr. is best in the NL), and leads in RBI per plate appearance.
***
The takeaway here is…if Frank Schwindel were doing this over a full season, we would be looking at a guy with a triple crown shot. Are the triple crown stats the best measures of hitting heft? No. You’re better off looking at wRC+ and xwOBA. Is Schwindel that caliber of hitter? Probably not. It’s only been 153 PA’s. But many of our brains are used to traditional statistics, which helps put what Schwindel’s doing in perspective. This is prime Miguel Cabrera stuff. What a comparison to be able to make.
Other highlights from yesterday:
- Ian Happ had another good day, putting the Cubs ahead in the first with a home run, helping hold a runner at third when the Reds rallied in the sixth (yes, Andy Green, we heard you), and hitting another ball just as hard as the home run but unfortunately a whole lot higher in the air. Happ is now up to a 93 wRC+ on the year and is within reach of keeping his career-long streak of being an above-average hitter every season alive. That’s impressive, and it’s encouraging for the next few years.
- Jason Heyward smoked a triple, which is the kind of thing that can happen for a guy with Jason Heyward’s swing and skillset. It’s value. Hopefully it happens a bit more. Every triple helps.
- Willson Contreras hit two hard singles. Like having him back.
- Alfonso Rivas had another pinch-hit single, which is hard to argue with. Like Michael Hermosillo, the Cubs will have a 40-man decision to make regarding Rivas this offseason, but unlike Hermosillo, Rivas has minor league options remaining, so he can stay with the franchise even if he isn’t on next year’s active roster.
- Justin Steele had another solid outing, building on last week’s start to look the part of a major league starter. Twice as many strikeouts as walks, all the hard contact on the ground. Steele’s FIP’s up at 5.08 but his xERA’s only 3.56, and he hasn’t allowed a home run in either of these last two trips out there.
- Scott Effross was effective again in relief, as were Adam Morgan and I would argue Codi Heuer, even if you don’t want inherited runners to score.
As a quick check-in on the bullpen, here are some FIP’s and innings pitched among guys who primarily have pitched in relief and are currently in the Cubs organization:
- Brad Wieck (1.64 FIP, 17.0 IP)
- Rowan Wick (2.40, 11.2)
- Matt Duffy (3.17, 0.1)
- Scott Effross (3.52, 5.2)
- Codi Heuer (3.67, 18.0) – Nearly identical FIP with CWS
- Michael Rucker (3.76, 18.2)
- Rex Brothers (4.29, 49.0)
- Dillon Maples (4.43, 27.2)
- Tommy Nance (4.53, 21.1)
- Adam Morgan (4.83, 21.2)
- Adrian Sampson (4.84, 11.1)
It gets worse after this—I cut it off where I did because top ten bullpens have a sub-4.00 FIP and if you add anyone else it exceeds that when weighting by IP. The broader point is: Notice how well Effross and Rucker have done, admittedly in very small sample sizes (especially for Effross), and to point out that Manuel Rodríguez, promising though he may be, is absent from the list. You shouldn’t just go off of results to-date when constructing next year’s bullpen, but they also aren’t meaningless, and if Effross can keep it up, the Cubs might hit on a very cheap lottery ticket.
***
The Diaspora:
Javy Báez had a two-hit day. Anthony Rizzo had a two-hit day.
Around the Division:
Brandon Woodruff allowed a concerning three home runs to the Phillies, something matched by the Milwaukee bullpen over the final two innings as Philadelphia pulled away. With the Padres off and the Cardinals playing the Dodgers, the race for the final playoff spot in the National League now looks like this:
- San Diego – 0.0 Games Back
- Cincinnati – 1.0 GB
- Philadelphia – 2.0 GB
- St. Louis – 3.5 GB
- New York – 4.5 GB
- Chicago – 10.0 GB
Catching up, guys.
In more newsy news, the Cardinals activated Andrew Miller.
Up Next:
The Cubs go for their eighth straight win.
***
Whom:
Cubs vs. Cincinnati
When:
6:40 PM Chicago Time
Where:
Wrigley Field
Weather:
The rain should move out before the game starts. Temperatures are expected to be around seventy degrees, with winds blowing across towards the right field foul pole, and perhaps a bit out, at five to fifteen miles per hour.
Starting Pitchers:
Adrian Sampson vs. Wade Miley
The Opponent:
By bWAR, Miley is second in the NL and third in Major League Baseball in WAR. By fWAR, he’s decent. 2.97 ERA, 4.13 xERA, 3.78 FIP. Good pitcher. Not unhittable. Not for Frank Schwindel, anyway.
The Numbers:
The Cubs are +140 underdogs, with Cincinnati at -150 for an implied Cubs win probability of about 40%. The over/under’s at 9½ and favors the under.
Cubs News:
David Bote was activated off the IL before yesterday’s game, which is great news after what looked like a possibly awful ankle injury. Andrew Romine was designated for assignment to make room on the active roster. The Cubs now have one more spot available on the 40-man.
Cubs Thoughts:
On the topic of the 40-man: There will be a crunch. How big will it be? It’s unclear, but my back-of-the-envelope estimate regarding the easy decisions (let Matt Duffy walk, let Austin Romine walk but bring back Robinson Chirinos, cut Sergio Alcántara, keep Michael Hermosillo and Rafael Ortega and I’ll get to them, let Zach Davies walk but we’ll get to that, let Adam Morgan walk, cut Trevor Megill, cut Kohl Stewart, let Jose Lobaton walk) leaves the Cubs with only three open spots, which is fewer than active rosters spots which need addressing via free agency (I’d estimate we see at least four MLB-level free agents brought in, and sure, Duffy and Davies can be in the pool of candidates, as can be Chirinos if you want to organize it that way but then you still probably need a backup catcher) and doesn’t get into Rule 5 stuff, which will necessitate a few more additions. This is a CRUNCH, and while the 60-day IL may keep some players in the fold (I forget how that works over the offseason, so correct me if I’m wrong about that being an option in, say, December), it’s safe to say that some of the Hermosillo/Ortega/Rivas/assorted-bullpeners crew may be on its way out, either by non-tender or trade. It’s that latter route that’s interesting, because you’d assume that whomever the Cubs lose to non-tendering wouldn’t be good enough to be on most 40-man rosters of playoff contenders (though the risk of losing a gem is ever-present), but in the event they are, the Cubs could conceivably get something back for them in the form of even more minor league depth. Will it happen? I don’t know. Minor league rosters are already rather full. But one bonus of guys playing well is that the Cubs could conceivably swing a November trade with them that adds just a little bit more to the farm system. Nothing groundbreaking, likely, but crunches aren’t the worst thing to have. I’d like to know how the Rays have handled them. I’d like to know how the Rays handle everything.
