The first half of the Cubs season was largely defined by underperformance by hitters not named Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez, Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward, or Kris Bryant. A lineup with all five of those players clicking is one that you’d expect to be consistently productive, but a lack of depth outside of that core group has led to frustrating and familiar struggles.
By and large, that lack of production matches what peripherals would suggest. Albert Almora Jr., Daniel Descalso, and others are unfortunately getting the results they deserve based on what batted-ball data and other underlying stats tell us.