Morel's power becomes an unexpected Cubs weapon
When the Cubs were piecing together the 2023 roster last winter, they didn't leave a position open for Christopher Morel.
So he started the year in Iowa and when his hitting numbers forced a call-up, Morel had to play all over the field.
On Monday in Houston, he started in left field for the first time this season and misjudged a deep line drive, which sailed over his head and opened the gates for a 4-run first inning by the Astros.
But then Morel blasted a 3-run homer in the fourth inning, which evened the score and made up for the earlier miscue.
That was the extent of the offense for the Cubs, who lost 6-4 when Alex Bregman hit a 2-run homer off reliever Michael Fulmer in the seventh.
Center fielder Cody Bellinger left the game after an impressive catch to end the seventh inning. He made a leaping catch at the top of the wall to prevent a run and rob Kyle Tucker of extra bases. But Bellinger appeared to hyperextend his left knee on the landing. He stayed on the ground for a couple minutes before eventually limping off the field and into the dugout.
"It seems like nothing major," Cubs manager David Ross said after the game. "We'll see how he wakes up in the morning. He's icing it now. All the checks the doc did, ligaments and things seem to be OK."
Patrick Wisdom appeared to suffer an injury on a swing in the bottom of the inning, but he stayed in the game.
Morel had a nice start to his big league career after being called up last season, but his power numbers have been surprising. Monday's clout was his fourth home run in six games since being called up to the Cubs, after he hit 11 in 29 games at Triple A Iowa.
What is Morel's ceiling as a power hitter? One problem with the Cubs this season has been the lack of consistent slug. This seems to be a collection of decent hitters in need of a couple of big bats to anchor the lineup.
Maybe Morel can fill that role. Not only is he socking home runs with frequency, he's sending them a long way. His upper deck shot in Minnesota on Sunday was measured at 461 feet. He credited the improvement with time spent in the gym over the winter.
"We were working hard in the Dominican. We were working more consistent, disciplined," Morel said after Sunday's game. "Last year I was 190 and this year, I've got 205 pounds, so I feel a lot different in every point - how I run, how I can make contact, everything. I'm not surprised, I was working hard to try to get this contact."
The power numbers have come with a downside. Morel's night Monday featured the 3-run homer and 4 strikeouts. One of the strikeouts was the result of a pitch-clock violation. A reasons listed for starting the season at Iowa was to work on cutting down on strikeouts.
Including this game, Morel has 10 whiffs in 26 at-bats since returning to the Cubs, a 38% strikeout rate. As a team, the Cubs struck out 16 times, despite Astros starter Framber Valdez exiting after just 4 innings.
Cubs starter Jameson Taillon shook off the tough first inning to go 4 2/3 with only the 4 runs allowed. A catch in left field in the first inning on the ball hit by Jose Abreu could have ended the first with no runs, but Taillon gave up 7 hits and a walk.
"Coming off kind of a rough one, it was, 'Here we go again' a little bit," Taillon said. "But I thought my delivery was good and my pitches were sharp. I've definitely had some balls fall, over the course of 30 starts, that stuff evens itself out.
"They've seen me a good bit. They know I throw strikes, they know I don't really like to walk guys. I thought they were justified in being aggressive and that's maybe where I thought I was getting pitches to the edge, but maybe early count I could have thrown more off-speed or thrown off inside."
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