3 reasons why Cubs fans shouldn’t be worried about Dansby Swanson’s recent plunge
By Josh Wilson
Dansby Swanson’s season start was unsustainably hot
Let’s remind you of those numbers from the first four games…
He slashed .588/.611/.706 and an OPS of 1.317, which included two doubles and 10 hits, and a walk in 18 plate appearances. He only struck out once and was put out seven times in total.
I’m sorry, but if you thought Swanson was going to continue this for the duration of the Cubs season, you should check those expectations. Those numbers would be otherwordly if held up for a year.
Now, that’s not to say Swanson’s nosedive was expected to be this steep, but he has earned himself some slack with the way he started.
To help illustrate that, he had an expected batting average of .414 during the first four games, which while still great, is lower than what he actually achieved (.588), perhaps indicative of some chance involved in his early success.
During this slump, that has reversed, his expected batting average is .232, higher than the actual of .194 in that period. Defenders are partly just playing well against him.
That pendulum will swing back the other way at some point, it’s just a question of when.