By the final day of Patrick Wisdom’s scorching stretch of five home runs in four games last week, the Chicago Cubs third baseman was running out of ways to explain his electric streak.
“Man, if I could replicate that feeling and bottle it up and hold on to it …” Wisdom said with a wide grin.
And even when it was about him, Wisdom made sure to turn the focus to those around him. When asked what impressed him the most about how he had been producing, he instead credited his teammates and coaches for producing an environment that makes it easy to have fun on the field.
It’s a simplified explanation for his performance through 20 games. The 31-year-old Wisdom takes a .256/.310/.679 slash line, nine home runs and a 163 OPS+ into Tuesday night’s series opener against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field.
Since earning an everyday opportunity in May 2021, Wisdom has been capable of carrying the offense for stretches. He’s one reason the Cubs have started strong through a tough schedule in the opening month.
“It’s staying consistent with the process and my routine — not only the physical routine but the mental routine,” Wisdom said. “It’s really homing in on the trust in my abilities.”
An attacking mindset and not missing his pitches in the zone have helped Wisdom spur a Cubs offense that’s among the best in the National League as May approaches. Instead of waiting to see how the pitcher will approach an at-bat, Wisdom is hunting for his pitches and doing damage when he connects.
It’s a mantra that first-year hitting coach Dustin Kelly has instilled in Wisdom and the rest of the Cubs.
“Hitting coaches, you always want to go toward mechanics, right? Like we think we can fix everybody’s mechanics and always the fix is mechanics,” Kelly said recently. “And I think with Patrick, we realized his mechanics are really good. He has a really good swing. He does a ton of damage in the middle of the zone and even a little bit lower in the zone.
“So we just kind of flipped his mindset, a little bit of like, ‘Hey, this is where you do damage. This is where you’re at your best and you get to attack the guy. He’s not attacking you.’”
Wisdom essentially is putting on blinders at the plate — focused on where the pitcher gives up damage and where he produces damage.
“Finding that middle ground or hunting pitches in my zone and sticking to that,” Wisdom said. “I know I’m going to swing at pitches outside my zone — it’s just the nature of the game — but the more consistent I can swing at pitches that are in my damage zone, the better off I’ll be.”
Entering Tuesday, Wisdom ranks among the top five in Major League Baseball in multiple power numbers: second in isolated power and at-bats per home run, third in home runs, fourth in total bases, tied for fourth in extra-base hits and fifth in slugging percentage. He’s also 10th in hard-hit percentage and 12th in OPS.
His success isn’t the byproduct of lots of luck either. Wisdom’s .268 Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) is below his career average. He’s hitting more line drives and fewer ground balls than the previous two seasons.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom averages one home run every 14.27 at-bats, second-best among NL hitters with at least 900 plate appearances, trailing only Philadelphia Phillies slugger and former Cub Kyle Schwarber (12.78). Wisdom’s 62 homers the last three years are tied for seventh in the NL.
Even when he’s not hitting the ball over the fence, Wisdom is driving the ball. He recorded an extra-base hit in six consecutive games, a streak that ended Thursday.
Strikeouts will continue to be part of his game — his 33.3% strikeout rate is in line with last year’s figure — but Wisdom’s in-zone contact percentage has increased nearly 4% while he averages a team-best 4.38 pitches per plate appearance.
When he gets to a full count, Wisdom thrives. He leads the league with four home runs on 3-2 counts and is one of 12 players hitting above .400 in such situations.
“Obviously the power is next level — there’s not many guys that have that,” Kelly said. “So when he does touch it and make contact, it’s going to go hard and a long ways. But he’s done such a good job of preparing and he’s worked at-bats really well. He’s fouled off tougher pitches that maybe some other guys would swing and miss at.”
Wisdom has batted predominantly sixth in the lineup, seemingly benefiting from better talent around him than the last two seasons. With the talent the Cubs have added to the top half of the order, Wisdom and the team have been cashing in.
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