Chicago Cubs’ infielder is on a 10-game hot streak at the plate

Dansby Swanson was moved down in the order before the Cubs’ series two weeks ago at PNC Park against the Pirates. He had been hitting fifth in the lineup for most of the season before his demotion, and he took it to heart. Swanson homered in the series opener and finale in that Pirates series and came through with a three-hit game in the second contest of the set.

Swanson is hitting .382 over his last ten games and has a pair of multi-hit games over the his last three contests. Following his two-hit game that included a two-run homer on Monday night, manager Craig Counsell was very complementary of what the veteran shortstop has done at the dish as of late.

“He’s swinging at the right pitches,” Counsell said. “He’s hitting mistakes really hard, just gotta keep it going.”

The Chicago Cubs need Dansby Swanson to settle into this role nicely

Despite being paid like the best player of the club, Swanson is a much better piece to the puzzle when he doesn’t have to be “the guy” at all times. His leadership and Gold Glove defense is vital to this team’s success, but when the pressure is off him to be batting toward the top of the order, he thrives. He is the perfect guy to slot in the seven or eight spot moving forward, and he clearly is seeing the right pitches from opposing staffs in these positions.

Swanson is slashing .248/.303./.472 with a .775 OPS in 42 games this season. His average being near .250 at the moment is extremely impressive given that he was hitting below .185 at one point in his slump last month. The 31-year-old is on pace to crush his home run total from a season ago (16) with his nine long balls so far in 2025.