Christopher Morel is trying to trust his process.
A lack of results can always test a hitter’s approach, but the Chicago Cubs third baseman instead wants to stay locked into what he can control when he steps in the batter’s box.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and the organization see a lot of positives in Morel’s offensive numbers this season despite his slash line (.201/.310/.388) and OPS+ (98) not being in an ideal spot the first week of June. Hoyer points to Morel’s walk rate increasing by nearly 4% while his strikeout rate (K%) has dropped by almost 10% from 2023.
Morel’s 21.8 K% is fourth-lowest among Cubs hitters and a tick below the league-average 22.2%. It’s extremely encouraging that Morel doesn’t appear to be deviating from a patient approach in which he stays within himself and doesn’t try to do too much or press to chase results.
“Those are the kind of things you assume that even out over the course of the season. You hope that’s the case,” Hoyer said. “He certainly has deserved better. He’s hit a lot of balls on cold and windy nights and has had some bad luck. I expect that all those underlying numbers at some point this summer will turn around, and it feels like he’s due for that to happen.
“We’ve lacked slug so much during this stretch, and getting him going and having him slug for us is really important.”
Morel’s expected advanced metrics highlight how unlucky he has been at the plate this year. His .378 expected weighted on-base average (wOBA) is 17th-highest in the majors, compared with his actual .308 wOBA, while his .209 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is third-lowest among 155 qualified hitters.
“The expected stuff, that’s probably what we should trust more than the other stuff,” manager Craig Counsell said.
Morel finally was rewarded in Tuesday’s 7-6 comeback victory against the White Sox when his two-run homer was part of a four-run sixth inning to tie the game. It was his second long ball in his last five games after hitting just one in a 19-game stretch between May 8-29 during which the Cubs went 6-13.
“I have great teammates, great coaches that support me,” Morel said through an interpreter. “I just go out there and control what I can control, go out there and give it my best every single day and every time I’m out there. … Pick my strike zone and try to put the ball in play.
“I know that eventually the ball will be there and the results will be given if I go out there and just control what I can control.”
The Cubs are showing patience as they wait for the hits to fall for Morel. They might not be able to afford that same approach to his defensive performance.
Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel is unable to handle a ground ball hit by White Sox shortstop Paul DeJong in the fourth inning on June 4, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Morel committed his eighth error of the season Tuesday, tied for fifth-most among any major-league fielder. His botched glove work kick-started a five-run fourth inning for the Sox, four of which were charged as unearned runs to left-hander Shota Imanaga.
The Cubs expected Morel to experience some rough moments at third base after putting him there full time at the beginning of spring training, but they need more consistency. Counsell said Wednesday the Cubs “absolutely” have to keep evaluating Morel at third. He believes Morel has shown defensive progress in some areas but also has taken steps back some days.
As the Cubs assess Morel’s defensive performance and consider the roster’s positional flexibility, Counsell said at this point they probably would not get Michael Busch reps at third, where he started 10 games in 2023 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and 61 for their Triple-A affiliate.
“Our job is to put the best team out there,” Counsell said. “And you do have to have your eye on making players better and players that can get better to make your team as good as it can possibly be. But we have to produce, right? … As we get a bigger sample here, we’ve got to evaluate (Morel).”
