Chicago Cubs offense not the problem for this team

The Chicago Cubs have struggled through inconsistency early in the season, but the offense is far less to blame than you think.

With the Chicago Cubs sitting at 25-21 as May wraps up, a lot of fans are wondering what’s going on with this team. And with each loss, the frustration seems to grow more intense.

Too many strikeouts. Too much lineup shuffling. Three of out of the five starting pitchers, especially Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood, struggling to find their form, and the bullpen seemingly letting them down when they do pitch well.

Of course, there’s definitely something to these concerns. Your eyes aren’t necessarily playing tricks on you. And when you see bad at-bats and questionable strategy, it’s hard not to be irritated.

But a deeper look at the numbers suggests that maybe things aren’t quite as bad as you think, Chicago Cubs fans. Particularly from an offensive perspective, this team is doing fine. In fact, even with their early-season strikeout binge, they’re still one of the best offenses in baseball.

Based on Fangraphs’ team offensive runs above average statistic (Off), the Cubs sit behind only the New York Yankees (45.8) at 25.3. They rank second in on-base percentage (.339), fourth in runs scored (238) and RBIs (226), fifth in walk rate (9.6%) and their egregious strikeout rate to start the year has dropped dramatically (23rd, 20.6%).

Plus, as expected, their numbers got a major boost once their contact started finding holes. Their batted balls in play average, which had been in the middling .200s after two weeks of play, is now up to .304 (sixth in baseball).

Also, their plate discipline isn’t nearly as bad as people think on the whole. Right now, the Cubs sit squarely in the middle of the pack in terms of the percentage of pitches outside the zone they swing at (14th, 30.1%) and their swinging strike percentage (14th, 10.6%).

And when they get their pitch in the strike zone, they’re making contact on 86% of swings (10th in MLB).

In short, the numbers suggest that the offensive game plan is better than perhaps we give it credit for on the whole.

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Of course, we know about guys like Kris Bryant (.296/.418/.984, 15.6 Off) and Javier Baez (.267/.297/.525, 6.7 Off) have been dominating to help drive the Chicago Cubs offense. For Baez in particular, it’s overwhelmingly his best offensive season despite the fact that he truly hates taking walks (3.2% BB%).

But on top of that, Ian Happ (.254/.362/.887), who struggled horrifically to start the season, is starting to come around to the tune of being second on the team behind Bryant in Off (7.2). His strikeout rate is still outrageously high, but again, when he makes contact, he’s been making it count (.400 BABIP).

Even with Anthony Rizzo‘s early-season struggles, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora and Willson Contreras have been picking up the slack.

So in spite of the frustrating aspects of this team and where they’re at right now record-wise, the Cubs could be playing far worse, especially offensively. And as the summer progresses, the offense could take it up another notch or two and really get this team rolling.

Now, if they can just get consistent pitching, they would be in great shape.

Next: 5 Bulls targets at No. 22

Until then, try not to panic too much, Chicago Cubs fans. This team is still good, and they’ll get better.