Early in the year, it feels like Chicago Cubs fans (and baseball fans in general) are more susceptible for going of the deep end. This season, a hot streak from Matt Mervis in Miami and Cam Smith cracking the Houston Astros’ 26-man was enough to send some folks sideways – but the good news is, once again, sample size reigns supreme.
Smith sat all weekend and carries a .205/.303/.359 slash line that leaves much to be desired. The 22-year-old has just one multi-hit game since April 12 and hasn’t been the difference-maker the Astros hoped for when they added him to the Opening Day roster. To play both sides, though, given the Cubs’ own third-base issues, it’s not like Smith would have been any worse of an answer than the likes of guys like Gage Workman.
Kyle Tucker is living up to the hype and then some, though, so it’s safe to say few in Wrigleyville are losing a lot of sleep over that trade right now.
Matt Mervis has gone ice-cold with the Marlins over the last week
Then we have Matt Mervis down with the Marlins in Miami. For a while there, the slugging first baseman was on a heater with the Fish – but that’s certainly changed of late. Sure, he’s got seven homers on the year, but even so, he’s just a 100 OPS+ player – and has been a negative WAR player, according to Baseball Reference.
Over his last seven games, Mervis has a .221 OPS with 10 strikeouts in 23 trips to the plate. He’s fallen off rather dramatically and left more than a little to be desired at the dish which, in all reality, is the only way he brings value to the Marlins given his defensive shortcomings.
Meanwhile, Michael Busch continues to put up impressive numbers somewhat quietly. He hit the first grand slam of his career this weekend in the Cubs’ series win over the Brewers in Milwaukee and boasts an .868 OPS on the season. Last year, he learned the position on the fly and turned into a Gold Glove-caliber defender, so there’s a lot to love all-around.
All this to say. It’s a long season. April is too soon to smash the panic button over just about anything – and we’d all be well-served in remembering that this time next year. Has Vidal Brujan been a difference-maker? No. But Mervis isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. Was Smith making the big-league roster out of camp an amazing story? Absolutely. But he’s not playing like an MVP. Meanwhile. the man the Cubs got in that trade, Kyle Tucker, is doing just that.