New Year’s Resolutions: Patrick Wisdom’s 400 At-Bats

2022 is well underway and the MLB is still in a lockout. Although Major League Baseball and the Players Association met recently, nothing has changed in in terms of coming to an agreement. However, assuming they do settle on a compromise in the near future, we have New Year’s resolutions for various Chicago Cubs players.

In our series of New Year’s resolutions, we have already examined Ian Happ’s 2022 season. Now, we’re going to take a look at another player who really burst on to the scene in 2021. That player is 30-year-old Patrick Wisdom.

Wisdom was signed by the Cubs after stops in St. Louis, Seattle, and Texas. Over the course of his career, Wisdom never saw more than 50 at-bats at the MLB level. In 2021, Wisdom registered 338 official at-bats for the Cubs.

Along the way, Wisdom had one of the hottest starts of any Cubs player’s career, set a new rookie home run record for the club, and played great defense at the hot corner. Entering 2022, the right-handed slugger figures to have an important role on a transitioning Cubs team.

Entering this season, one thing Wisdom can work on is cutting down the number of strikeouts, while potentially taking more walks. However, we’re going to focus on an even bigger goal for the slugger. In order to correct the former goal, Wisdom needs 400 at-bats. That is Patrick Wisdom’s New Year’s resolution.

More Appearances, More Practice

Entering 2022, Wisdom needs to continue to see more pitches at the MLB level. We noted the career number of at-bats entering 2021, so Wisdom is very much a rookie at the highest level. That said, he is certainly in line for 400 at-bats this coming season. In order for Wisdom to strikeout less and take more walks, he’ll need to see more pitches in more at-bats.

It feels simple, but let’s discuss the why. Why does Patrick Wisdom need more at-bats? Well, the guy has a mean power stroke and can cement himself with the Cubs for at least the next few seasons. In 2021, Wisdom hit 28 home runs, drove in 61 runs, and added 13 doubles. That was in just 106 games. If Wisdom can actively work on cutting down his strikeouts and remain healthy, he might be looking at a 30+ home run season while driving in close to 100 runs.

However, the one concern for that is Wisdom’s average. He is very much a hit or bust player. In 2021, the 30-year-old rookie slashed .231/.305/.518. That lack of a higher on-base percentage will certainly give teams confidence throwing away from Wisdom, which can ultimately hurt his offensive output next season.

Gaining Wisdom Entering 2022

Now that Patrick Wisdom is a certified big leaguer, he needs to adjust to pitching as they adjust to him. After a scorching hot start to his 2021 season, he cooled down dramatically over the course of the second half. However, despite the drop in average, Wisdom’s power continued throughout the whole season. Entering 2022, Patrick Wisdom needs to adjust, perhaps take more walks, and definitely cut down on the strikeouts. If he manages to accomplish that, he can easily be an even more impactful player than he was in 2021.