How Much Should Patrick Wisdom Be Written Into Struggling Cubs Lineup?

[RandallPnkFloyd]

What if I told you that there is a Chicago Cubs player on the current roster slashing .310/.429/.655, walking at a 17-percent clip, with an ISO of .345 and a wRC+ of 212? And what if I told you that Craig Counsell isn’t putting said player on his lineup card every day? 

Image courtesy of © John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

In that instance, my hope is that your first inclination would be to ask about the sample size. Because in the case of Patrick Wisdom, it’s only 35 plate appearances deep. Nonetheless, the early returns (in conjunction with some of the struggles from various points throughout the Cubs’ lineup) have me thinking about the benefits of more Wisdom in the starting nine.

This thought comes with the obvious caveat of having a space to regularly feature the team’s backup bopper. His “natural” spot, third base, is sealed up by Christopher Morel and Nick Madrigal. First base is largely held down by Michael Busch. The corner outfield spots belong to Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and (occasionally) Mike Tauchman. It makes sense that Wisdom’s playing time distribution looks like it does thus far: four positional starts (two in right field, two at first base), three starts as the designated hitter, and four pinch-hit appearances. Even with injury issues scattered throughout the roster, it’s a lot of bodies in spots where you might otherwise put Wisdom.

At the same time, the numbers are at least interesting enough to consider an expanded role. The production is there, in about as minuscule a sample as you can have in mid-May. He’s mashing, in a way that's hard to ignore (if also hard to fully trust). The peripherals look decent, as well. Wisdom has reined in his approach a bit, cutting his swing rate to a hair under 40%, against 46.8% last year. His out-of-zone swing rate, in particular, stands out, as it’s been cut by a full seven percentage points, down to 20.2%. The whiff rate has come down just a bit with the checked aggressiveness (11.8% of all pitches). He hasn’t parlayed it into a wealth of overall contact, but he’s at least walking at a strong pace, on top of hitting the ball hard.

Power potential has always made Wisdom a tantalizing player, and that continues to ring true. Five of his nine hits on the year have been of the extra-base variety, and Statcast has him making hard contact exactly half the time. Hard contact is nothing new, but his launch angle is. Wisdom’s 24.7-degree launch angle this year is the steepest of his career. For a lineup bereft of home run power outside of Morel (and Busch’s five-game stretch in April), more Wisdom in the lineup starts to become an alluring notion.

Of course, there’s a reason Wisdom is used sparingly. His career K% is closer to 40 than you’re probably comfortable with. His defense isn’t particularly inspiring, no matter where you try to squeeze him in. He’s likely best kept in a small, selective role. At the same time, the Cubs are 23rd in hard-hit rate (37.4%). They’re 12th in ISO (.151). With Busch being inconsistent since mid-April and the complete – and I cannot stress this enough – absence of power from Ian Happ in one outfield corner, it could behoove Counsell to examine the idea of more opportunity for Wisdom. Perhaps a reshaping of the outfield in order to garner more time at the DH spot?

Not that we should expect Wisdom to sustain anything like these production rates when stretched out over a longer sample. He is who he is, and who he is is the reason we’re not talking about this with more alacrity.

But that hypothetical impact he provides at the plate is something that this team is lacking, over a stretch in which their pitching (especially the bullpen) can’t compensate. The possibility of additional offense seems almost more likely than hoping the current relief corps stabilizes enough to protect leads in the near term. Sure, you might have to compromise a bit on the contact-oriented end of things if it means staving off yet another late-inning disappointment. If the Cubs were getting consistent contributions from other key regulars (Happ), perhaps it’s not a worthy sacrifice. But continued injury and lackluster output start to make it at least a legitimate idea to consider.

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Let's hear your thoughts on this. Should Wisdom be part of the lineup on a regular basis, at least while Dansby Swanson is injured and the team's lineup is at less than full strength? How would you balance his playing time against that of players like Busch, Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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[Guest234]

So were you personally filling out his DFA slip during the last week of spring training?  Lots of posters were.