This Cubs player is looking to prove everyone wrong in 2022

The Chicago Cubs are a team with mixed expectations. There is an extra playoff berth in both the National League and American League this year which makes things interesting. However, there are probably seven teams in the NL that are better on paper than the Cubs.

Making it to the postseason as a third-place team is possible but they would have to prove a lot of people wrong. There are some players on the Cubs that have to individually prove some people wrong because of some circumstances that they are in.

One of those players is Patrick Wisdom. He was outstanding in 2021 which was really one of the only bright spots in the season for the Cubs organization. Wisdom had a few MLB games under his belt in 2018, 2019, and 2020 split between the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs before sticking with the latter in 2021.

As a result, Wisdom was a 29/30-year-old rookie. Normally, by the time you reach 29, you aren’t going to finally hit your potential in a sport. Wisdom did that and it was one of the better stories all season long. He came in fourth place for the NL Rookie of the Year Award because he was so good.

Patrick Wisdom is going to try to be really good again for the Cubs in 2022.

It is natural to predict regression. He is 30 years old and will be 31 in August so you have to wonder if it is possible for him to get better in year two. He had 28 home runs, 61 RBIs, 54 runs scored, and a slash of .231/.305/.518 for an OPS of .823 which are all great numbers.

The Cubs didn’t trade him while his value was at an all-time high and it could go two ways. It could prove to be a mistake if he regresses hard or it could be smart if he does it again. He looks like he is out (based on his spring performance) to repeat what he did last year again.

The Cubs played a crazy Cactus League game against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday that finished as a 13-12 win for them. In that game, Wisdom hit 8th in a lineup loaded with players that will make up their actual lineup in just over a week when the regular season starts.

He went 2-2 with two home runs and four RBIs. It was a great day at the plate for him and he played third base defensively which is also an interesting note. He was replaced later in the game by Robel Garcia as the Cubs clearly cared more about seeing players than they did winning the game.

Wisdom has taken 13 at-bats so far this spring. In those at-bats, he has a batting average of .231 with an OPS of 1.025. The average is bad but it is a mostly bad stat these days, especially when the player in question has an OPS like that. He has those two home runs and a total of five RBIs now as well.

It is going to be a big year for Wisdom as he tries to lift this team while also showing that he is just a late bloomer that deserves to be in the MLB for a long time. So far, things are looking good for him on that quest.