Sitting Suzuki worked. Here are some more changes Cubs need to make
Part 1 of “Lineup Tough Love” went well for the Cubs.
Slumping right fielder Seiya Suzuki was left off the starting lineup for four straight games. He cleared his head, returned Wednesday against the Mets and went 3-for-4 with a triple, home run and three 100-plus mph exit velocities.
In Toronto this weekend, the Cubs are scheduled to face two right-handed starters in Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt, then lefty Hyun Jin Ryu. Don't imagine manager David Ross will wait until Sunday to get Suzuki back on the field.
But Ross also shouldn't stop with Suzuki. Two other moves need to follow. During the last homestand, Ross admitted with the Cubs back in playoff contention, they need to play the best lineups. So try this:
Part 2: Hit Cody Bellinger third.
This one was painfully apparent in the ninth inning Wednesday. With the Cubs down a run and the bases loaded, Ian Happ struck out to end the game while Cody Bellinger waited on deck.
Bellinger needs to bat third. Happ can move wherever. No. 7 or 8 seems about right for a player hitting .241 who is eighth on the team in OPS.
Happ hasn't had a great year - that much is obvious - and April was his best month. Happ hit .198 in June, .218 in July and is at .200 so far in August.
Bellinger hit .250 in June while coming back from a knee injury, then .400 in July and .441 in August. Who knows how important one win might be by the end of September?
Part 3: Play Mike Tauchman against lefties.
This is the “Summer of Tauchman,” after all. The Palatine native hasn't gotten a ton of chances against left-handed pitching, but he's hitting .270 against lefties and .287 against right-handers, so not a huge difference.
It's also clear the Cubs' typical lineup vs. right-handers has been devastating. They've won 12 of their last 13 games when Tauchman hits leadoff. Over the full season, the record is 23-11.
Remember how the offense was never the same after letting leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler walk away after the 2016 season? Well, they've finally found an effective leadoff hitter, so why bother with a platoon?
There are still plenty of ways Ross can stay flexible with the lineup, like using Tauchman in center, Bellinger at first, Jeimer Candelario at third or DH. He can find spots for Suzuki, Christopher Morel and Nick Madrigal as well, but somebody's going to have to play less.
Tauchman might cool off eventually, but at the moment he's hitting .407 in August with a .500 on-base percentage.
Frowns for Smyly:
Another question facing the Cubs for the stretch run is whether their pitching can hold up. Javier Assad is getting another trial as a starter Friday in Toronto. As long as he keeps pitching well, he should stay in the rotation.
Since the Cubs lack left-handers in the bullpen, keeping Drew Smyly in a relief role sounds promising. But Smyly has been hit hard by left-handed hitters (.330) this season, and he's given up the most home runs on the staff.
Maybe a better choice is putting Smyly on the injured list for a few weeks and hoping he's stronger in September. That's basically what they're doing with Marcus Stroman.
Is there any potential help in the minors? Well, maybe. The best option would be to bring back Michael Rucker, who seems to be cruising since he went down to Iowa.
Prospect Ben Brown is likely to make his MLB debut in September, if he recovers from an oblique injury that currently has him on the sideline. He's already on the 40-man roster, which makes a difference. The Cubs might be reluctant to bring up Jordan Wicks or Cade Horton for a late-season change of pace since those players don't need to go on the 40-man this winter.
A potential wild card is MLB veteran Shane Greene. He was a star reliever for Detroit and Atlanta from 2017-20. He was out of the league until the Cubs signed him in June, and he's been good in two appearances with Iowa. During his glory days, he threw a 94-mph sinker. That sinker averaged 90.9 mph during the 3 innings he pitched Wednesday for the Iowa Cubs. So who knows?
Another positive sign was two scoreless innings by left-hander Luke Little in his second Triple A outing. He peaked at 96 with his fastball. Keegan Thompson has had a few promising outings, but his Iowa ERA is still 12.05.
Minor notes:
OF Owen Caissie has hit .356 for Double A Tennessee since July 1. And he turned 21 on July 8, making him one of the younger players in the Southern League. ... The Iowa Cubs hit 4 home runs in the first inning Wednesday at Omaha, by P.J. Higgins, Matt Mervis, Luis Vazquez and Yonathan Perlaza. ... Heading into Thursday's action, three of the Cubs' four minor league teams were at least 15 games above .500 on the season - Iowa, Tennessee and Myrtle Beach. South Bend is the lone affiliate with a losing record, but just added high draft picks Matt Shaw and Josh Rivera, which could help.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports