Chicago Cubs Hitters of the Month: May 2026

May was an interesting month for the Chicago Cubs, and ultimately a futile one. The team ended a second 10-game win streak, only to follow with a 10-game streak on the opposite side of the ledger. The lineup, of course, was a huge part of this, and many notable players struggled.

Still, there are a few players worth giving some flowers to for trying to keep the offense afloat.

Ranking Cubs' Best Hitters in May

Carson Kelly: .269/.319/.299, 0 HR, 2 RBI

No, these are not stellar stats, but Kelly gets the third place nod for his consistency compared to his expectations. He didn't underperform. Overall, he is providing the value expected of him, which this month was a wonderful blessing for Craig Counsell and the Cubs.

While the power hasn't manifested this season, Kelly has been a rare beacon of consistency in May. In losses, he maintained a .391 OBP; in wins it was .386. Player stats tend to be lower in losses, so this is a rare win for the Cubs lineup. Another metric Kelly has done well with is batting with runners in scoring position. The veteran catcher has an .869 OPS in those situations, with a .289/.385/.467 slash line.

By virtue of his consistency, and due to a lack of better options, Carson Kelly is third for this prestigious made-up award.

Michael Busch: .300/.446/.510, 4 HRs, 24 RBIs

Yes, Michael Busch is a good hitter, and he showed that this month. After a lackluster start (.576 OPS in April) when the rest of the lineup was clicking, Busch's stats went a bit under the radar due to the rest of the team struggling. Busch was the only consistent power bat for the month.

Busch has adapted to playing every day against left-handed starters overall. He's getting on base against them at a solid clip, with a .338 OBP. Nothing else has been great, however; his batting average is just .197 against them, and his OPS dips 200 points, from .816 against RHP to .616 vs. LHP.

Against starting pitchers, though, Busch has done well with his platoon disadvantage. He's hitting .296 against them with 3 homers in 58 plate appearances. That's solid! Relievers, though, pitching in higher-leverage spots and designed to maximize platoon advantages, have had his number. He's 1-20 against them. That is the only flaw so far in Busch's profile.

Ian Happ: .230/.347/.480, 6 HRs, 19 RBIs

No, these numbers aren't as good as Michael Busch. No, they aren't particularly close. But Happ, more than any other player, is representative of the struggles and successes of the Cubs as a whole.

Happ's stats from May have hilarious splits.

Last 7 Days: .323/.344/.710, 3 HR

Last 14 Days: .216/.259/.471, 3 HR

Happ tends to look awful at the plate for long stretches only to morph into Ted Williams at a moment's notice. Before his last seven-game heater, Happ was 1-for-20 in the week prior. He was so off, he got a couple of reset games, then came back strong last week.

He's not the best hitter, but he does get the award due to being emblematic of the Cubs as a whole. Having ten-game win streaks and loss streaks consecutively is the definition of streaky; so is Happ, obviously. Overall, he'll end up with the same numbers, but the ride will of course be a wild one. So, as a nod to the Cubs' hot-to-cold nature, we'll give the award to their most notorious hot-to-cold hitter.

To wrap this up, let's have a little extra fun with Happ. The main thing that stands out is that he hits cleanup, but is notably bad in clutch situations. It's not just noise either; Happ has awful numbers.

He has 9 RBIs in the cleanup spot, which extrapolated to 162 games puts him on pace for around 40. His strikeout rate spikes to 40% (36% strikeout rate during the losing streak).

It's not fair to compare Happ to other teams' cleanup hitters. That's simply a function of the position player group composed without an alpha bat. To make matters worse for Happ, he's notoriously bad when the team loses. When they're behind, he has 35 strikeouts in 76 at bats and just a .158 batting average. That type of production is covered over in wins, but when the team goes on a losing bender the memories of whiffs with runners on optically stands out.

Happ will look to be more consistent, but don't expect it. Just expect a WRC+ between 116-122, walk rate around 15%, a .240 batting average, and 20 HR and you'll be satisfied.