Three up, three down: An update on the Cubs, August 12 edition

Since the last update in this series, the Cubs played five games and won four of them, the last four, so they enter this week on a high note and a four-game winning streak.

During those four games there were some good performances — as well as some not-so-great — so let’s take a look at both sides.

Three up

Cubs catchers had a really good hitting week

Miguel Amaya and Christian Bethancourt combined to bat .316/.381/.632 (6-for-19) with three doubles and a home run over the five games. That’s actually... really good!

Beyond that, they threw out two runners in four attempts over the five games, which is a pretty small sample size but still an improvement over previous efforts.

The key hit among the six from the catchers was, of course, Amaya’s game-winner on Saturday [VIDEO].

Neither one of these guys is going to be a superstar but their performances over the last week hint that they could actually be productive at the plate and in the field, which would be a huge boost to this team.

Cubs relievers continue to shine

Over the five games, Cubs relievers combined for 16 innings and allowed three runs (1.69 ERA) with a WHIP of 0.938. They walked two and struck out 19. And even with Hector Neris’ high-wire act in the two games against the White Sox, he did post a pair of saves and now hasn’t blown a save in his last seven chances.

Dansby Swanson is slowly getting back on track

Swanson has a six-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .409/.435/.500 (9-for-22) with a triple, four runs scored and only three strikeouts. And in 27 games since July 10 he’s batting .330/.379/.426 (31-for-94) with four doubles, a triple, a home run and 12 runs scored.

Prior to 2024 Swanson’s career OPS was .739 (and .763 from 2019-23). This season his OPS is at .659, but if he can keep batting like he has over the last month, he should get back to that career average level.

Congrats to Dansby on his 1,000th career hit Saturday against the White Sox [VIDEO].

Three down

Javier Assad is struggling

Assad’s overall numbers aren’t terrible — 3.42 ERA, 1.326 WHIP — but over his last six starts he has a 4.88 ERA and 1.750 WHIP, with 15 walks and only 11 strikeouts in 24 innings. That has produced a 7.09 FIP, which is... pretty bad. He’s gone more than four innings only once in that span.

This is probably why, in the probable pitchers list for the Guardians series, the Cubs are skipping Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks could work out of the pen to piggyback Assad when he starts against Cleveland on Tuesday.

Craig Counsell still won’t play David Bote

Look, I get it. Bote is a bench player, a complementary piece. And with Isaac Paredes now at third and performing, that takes away potential starts from Bote.

But Bote didn’t play at all over these five games — not even as a pinch-hitter. Seems like that’s wasting a roster spot, no?

Bote is batting .326/.356/.419 (14-for-43) with four doubles. Surely a team could find a spot every once in a while for a hitter like that.

Patrick Wisdom has barely played lately, either — just starting one game over the last five, at first base against the White Sox on Friday. He went 0-for-3.

Nico Hoerner: two steps forward, two steps back

It’s a sign of how well the Cubs are playing lately that I had to stretch to find a third “down” performance for this edition. Nico gets a couple of hits and looks good, then goes 0-for-3 in his next game. His season OPS hasn’t been above .690 or below .660 since June 10. It’s a remarkably consistent 54-game period of mediocrity.

It could be partly due to the small fracture he suffered in his right hand when he was hit by this pitch in Cincinnati on June 6 [VIDEO].

Nico was only a defensive replacement the next day, missed two games, was a defensive replacement again and then returned to the lineup. It’s entirely possible that injury is still bothering him.

In general, though, the Cubs are playing well, with four wins in a row and a 20-12 record since July 4, third-best in MLB behind the Padres and Diamondbacks.

Keep up the good work!