As the Cubs have been struggling lately, everyone wants to blame Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel rather than looking at the numbers. These guys are likely fall guys because their inconsistency has been alarming.

It’s easy to not pick nits with the more established players because we’ve come to love them. Dansby Swanson has been a great addition to the team for a number of reasons, but he’s been less than stellar at the plate in the last 30 games. He’s got 4 homers and 17 RBI. Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for the money they’re paying and that’s currently the high mark of the 1-3 hitters on the team.

My current favorite player is Nico Hoerner, so it pains me to say his hitting woes couldn’t have come at a worse time. He’s hitting a whopping .225 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI in his last 30 games. However, his fielding and baserunning hasn’t suffered. The Cubs have to let him play through the slump, that’s how guys get better. They learn to battle through the tough times, make adjustments and get lucky.

The guy that is killing the team at bat and in the field is #3 hitter and left fielder, Ian Happ. He will never receive any criticism because he’s a media darling and is on the radio. In his last 30 games, he’s batting .236 with ZERO home runs and 6 RBI. Man, that stinks on toast. Happ’s defense is getting progressively worse and may be a result of his hitting woes. He still makes most of the plays on fly balls, but has had problems fielding grounders and his throws have been less than spot-on. In general, the Cubs defense has been suffering lately. Suzuki is a below average fielder. Don’t look at error totals because official scorers are loathe to credit any fielder with an error.

Last night, Suzuki made a throw to a non-existent first baseman. It wasn’t ruled an error, but was a horrible play just the same. Announcers continue to excuse sloppy play in the field.

While the locals are trying to figure what to do with Mervis, they’re making comparisons to Anthony Rizzo and hoping he’s on the same career arc. The Cubs needn’t look past last night’s opponent for a comparison. Angels prospect, Jo Adell has had his own struggles at the ML level and began the season at AAA. Adell just made his season debut after slugging 18 homers in the PCL. His 4,218 foot homer may be the first of many, and the Cubs will eventually use his story as a model for Mervis and maybe Morel if things don’t improve sooner than ever.