The Chicago Cubs’ biggest postseason worry laid out

The optimism was mostly generated due to the team’s elite offense, which was absolutely steamrolling opposition pitching and providing comfort for a pitching staff that overachieved a bit because of it, despite losing ace Justin Steele very early in the season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong was generating MVP buzz with his excellence at the plate and his elite-level defense in center field. Seiya Suzuki was delivering career-best numbers from the DH spot. Catcher Carson Kelly was making headlines with an almost Babe Ruthian power pace. First baseman Michael Busch was having a breakthrough sophomore year. And in the middle of it all, offseason acquisition Kyle Tucker was serving as the linchpin for the lineup, delivering top-tier production in all areas.

And then something happened and, almost suddenly, the Cubs’ heavy hitters stopped hitting heavy.

The fall of the Cubs offense

Tucker’s .184 average from July 1 to August 21 made the most headlines, but every one of the top-tier Cubs run producers has fallen off. In August, Crow-Armstrong posted a feeble .160 batting average, registering an MLB-worst OPS and wRC+ among qualified hitters in that month.

If not for the post-All-Star break output of Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw, and Dansby Swanson, the team may have had a grimmer fate than just falling out of first place in the NL Central Division.

And, although the Cubs have shown glimmers of breaking out of their team-wide slump, there is still legitimate concern that the offense which motored them to regular season success may not be able to get them postseason success.

The biggest postseason concern

Sahadev Sharma, in a collaborative piece for The Athletic titled “MLB playoff watch: Biggest concern facing each of the top contending teams,” talks up the big pending question mark as the team heads into the playoffs.

Per Sharma:

“As good as the overall numbers are, the chief concern has to be the offense. This was a group that made the Cubs look dominant early in the season with a pair of MVP candidates in Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Now with PCA in a funk, Tucker’s calf a question mark and prior standouts like Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki not looking as consistent, suddenly this isn’t as formidable a unit. If the Cubs can find their rhythm and get close to looking how they did early in the year, they will be dangerous in October.”

Make no mistake, there are also other question marks for the Cubs. The durability of the starting rotation is a real issue, as is the postseason stability of closer Daniel Palencia.

But, yes, the offense tops the list of concerns.

Certain tweaks from manager Craig Counsell have delivered short-term positive results, but nothing has seemed to work when it comes to restoring the might of the first-half Cubs offense.

If Chicago wants to make a deep playoff run, they better find a way to get back at least some of that offensive magic.