Chicago Cubs Season in Review: Patrick Wisdom
It would have been almost impossible for Patrick Wisdom to follow up on his rookie season performance. Debuting at the age of 29 is always a challenge, but when it goes smoothly, some of the success has to be credited to MLB pitchers' lack of familiarity,
Wisdom certainly had that in droves in 2021. His solid third base defense and .823 OPS placed him fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Though he was even older than many Chicago Cubs veterans, there was hope that Wisdom's team control could make him a cornerstone piece of the franchise.
2022 proved that Wisdom shouldn't be given the "cornerstone" label, but he did play like he belonged in the Major Leagues and established himself as especially valuable against lefties.
Perhaps Wisdom's biggest downfall was actually his increased playing time. He became an everyday starter in 2022 and suffered for it.
In 2021 he got a much greater portion of his at-bats against lefties, but in 2022 Wisdom barely got a quarter of his at-bats against southpaws. When he did though, the 30-year-old sophomore punished them, slashing .250/.336/.557 with 10 home runs in 141 plate appearances.
Over the course of the season though, his line was a rather less impressive .207/.298/.426. While it's above average, good for an OPS+ of 102, his defense did not make up for the mediocre offense.
According to DRS he was worth -11 runs in the field. By OAA, he was in the bottom 1% of all fielders, a pitiful -15. It's a very strange dichotomy comparing Wisdom's defense in 2021 to his defense in 2022 because last year he was in the top 81% of all fielders by OAA and worth four DRS.
Something changed in 2022, and it's a trait Wisdom must rediscover should he wish to stay in the Majors.
Oddly enough, defense wasn't the only thing Wisdom ranked bottom of MLB in. He was also bottom 1% in xBA and K%, despite a 6.5% decrease in strikeouts since 2021.
Wisdom was lucky to have done as well in 2022 as he did, yet there is still promise in his bat and in his glove. Perhaps he can rediscover the magic he captured in the first half. As late as Jul. 3 he had an OPS of .793.
If not, Wisdom's career may be over as quickly as it blossomed.
Final Grade: C+
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