Cubs Worst Hitter Out of Lineup
The Chicago Cubs were comfortably ahead during Monday night’s series opener against the Oakland A’s and it was still painful to watch Trey Mancini look completely out of it at the plate. David Ross was so desperate to get Mancini a hit that in the fourth inning that he challenged a foul ball down the left-field line that was obviously not in fair territory. Mancini struck out looking on the next pitch.
Mancini went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Monday night and through the 14 games he’s been in the starting lineup, Mancini has been by far the team’s worst hitter. Despite the A’s sending out left-handed starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk, Mancini is getting Tuesday night off and has now been on the bench twice during this road trip after starting in the team’s first 11 games.
Eric Hosmer is back at first base, while Luis Torrens gets only his fourth start as the designated hitter this season.
Trey Mancini’s Awful Start to 2023
Trey Mancini may benefit from a few days off because he is absolutely lost at the plate right now. Following his fourth consecutive hitless game on Monday, Mancini’s season slash line looks like this: .196/.220/.250, with just one extra base hit, which came on a home run against the Seattle Mariners a week ago today at Wrigley Field.
Basically every red flag is up on Mancini when you take a look at all of his numbers through 14 games.
Trey Mancini 2023 vs. Career
2023 Ground Ball Percentage: 56.4 – Career Ground Ball Percentage: 48
2023 Fly Ball Percentage: 23.1 – Career Fly Ball Percentage: 31.6
2023 Strikeout Percentage: 30 – Career Strikeout Percentage: 23
2023 Walk Percentage: 1.7 – Career Walk Percentage: 7.8
2023 Hard Hit Percentage: 12.8 – Career Hard Hit Percentage: 34.6
Simply put, Mancini is hitting the ball more on the ground than in the air compared to the rest of his career and he’s not hitting the ball hard as frequent as he has during his career, while also striking out more and walking less. He’s on a new team and was brought in to be one of the new leaders, so it is very possible that Mancini is pressing and putting even more pressure on himself to begin the season with the Cubs.
Again, a day or two off will hopefully clear Mancini’s head because as much as it’s frustrating to watch as a fan, you just know Mancini feels a lot worse about his performance.
Luckily, most of the Cubs lineup is doing more than enough to make up for Mancini’s slow start.
Cubs wRC+ Leaders
Patrick Wisdom: 192 wRC+ in 57 Plate Appearances
Ian Happ: 158 wRC+ in 68 Plate Appearances
Dansby Swanson: 139 wRC+ in 64 Plate Appearances
Cody Bellinger: 135 wRC+ in 65 Plate Appearances
Nico Hoerner: 117 wRC+ in 71 Plate Appearances
Seiya Suzuki also has a 103 wRC+ in 19 plate appearances since making his season debut on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Entering Tuesday, the Cubs had the highest scoring offense in the National League, averaging 5.53 runs per game.