Craig Counsell's next necessary Cubs lineup change could ruffle some feathers

The Chicago Cubs got off to a promising start to the 2024 campaign, finishing the month of April with an 18-12 record, but things have only gone downhill since then. The Cubs enter Sunday's rubber game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a record of 34-37. That means they've been nine games under .500 since May 1, one of the worst marks in the majors in that span.

Chicago's putrid bullpen has played a role, but their offense has struggled mightily as well. Since May 1, the Cubs rank 28th in the majors in runs scored, only ahead of the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins, the two worst teams in the majors.

Uncoincidentally, one of Chicago's hottest hitters in April, Mike Tauchman, has slowed down a ton since the calendar flipped to May. Tauchman has been hitting mostly leadoff for the better part of this stretch, but the Cubs haven't been scoring runs, and he hasn't been producing. It's time for a change.

It's time for Craig Counsell to make a much-needed Cubs lineup change

Since May 1, Tauchman is slashing .227/.304/.304 with two home runs and nine RBI. This is after he was slashing .307/.435/.955 with three home runs and 10 RBI by the time April had come to an end. He went from one of the best hitters in the National League in April to one of the 25 worst by WRC+ for qualified hitters according to FanGraphs since May 1.

Tauchman's struggles have only gotten worse in his last ten games. The Cubs are 4-6 in those games, scoring more than five runs just once in that span with the 33-year-old leading off seven times.

Counsell sticking with Tauchman at the top of the order makes sense. His .352 OBP this season is a strong number, and his 12.4 percent walk rate is good for 17th in the majors among qualified hitters. The Cubs not having a different ideal leadoff hitter with Nico Hoerner having a down year doesn't help, but Tauchman struggling like this isn't helping at all at the top of the order.

It might be controversial, but this is a change that Craig Counsell needs to make sooner than later to attempt to wake up a slumbering offense.