Dansby Swanson smashes 18th home run in win

Swanson tied the game at 1-1 with a solo homer off Tarik Skubal in the third frame. He also doubled — his 23rd — and singled to improve his average to .219 on the campaign. He’s picked up five hits in his last two games, and fantasy managers should be well aware of just how streaky Swanson can be.

Despite mostly hitting ninth and only once hitting higher than sixth in the Cubs lineup, Swanson is tied for 15th in the majors in runs scored with 63 runs scored. Imagine if he had better than a .296 OBP.

Swanson has been the hottest hitter in baseball lately. He has nine homers and 29 RBI in his past 13 games, including five long balls over the last two days. The Cubs’ 23 runs were their most in a game since 1995, and their eight homers tied a franchise record. Swanson had a disastrous May, but he has more than rewarded fantasy managers who stuck by him. Consider him a must-start fantasy option until this historic heater cools off.

Swanson hit two of the Cubs’ five homers in a slugfest where both teams combined for nine baseballs hit over the fence. The 32-year-old shortstop has started to swing a hot stick, and he’s been much better with the bat over the last few weeks than his .203/.296/.395 slash suggests. Swanson has been a streaky hitter for much of his career, and fantasy managers looking for middle-infield help may wanna take a look while the getting is good.

Something takes over Swanson’s body, mind, and soul when he faces the Mets. After tormenting them with two home runs and seven runs batted in during the first leg of their doubleheader, he picked up right where he left off with four more in the nightcap. This came after he drove in four runs last night, giving him 15 RBI in three games. Coming into this series, he had just 31 RBI on the season and only six total in his prior 30 games. Now, he’s on a 90 RBI pace and raised his OPS by more than 70 points in the process. And he still has another game against them tomorrow.

Swanson’s first home run was a three-run blast off Nolan McLean in the sixth that broke a 3-3 tie, and then he hit a grand slam off Jonathan Pintaro in the eighth inning to give him 11 home runs and 42 RBI on the season. It has not been a great season for Swanson, who is still hitting just .194/.298/.372 on the year, but he’s had a tremendous five-game stretch, going 8-for-18 with four home runs, 14 RBI, seven runs scored, and three steals. Maybe fantasy managers should wait until after the Mets series ends and see if there is any trade interest in their respective leagues.

Swanson’s xwOBA has really bounced back much of late, but he does have six hits, including two homers and two doubles, in his last four games, raising his OPS from .587 to .641. While he’s still batting just .189 overall, he still figures to be a useful MI going forward. His exit velocity numbers are worst last year, but it hasn’t been backed up by a decrease in bat speed, and his strikeout rate this year is actually better than usual.

Ramírez has gone 4-for-16 with one RBI in 17 plate appearances over eight games since being called up from Triple-A Iowa last month. The 22-year-old rookie gets a look at the keystone with Nico Hoerner sliding over to shortstop with Dansby Swanson getting a rare day off.

Swanson entered this game riding a four-game hitting streak that followed a 0-for-12 slump in what’s been a horrific season thus far. He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since April 27th and hasn’t had a batting average higher than .220 since the fourth game of the season. At 32 years old, there’s reasonable fear that his production could fall off a cliff.

Swanson’s home run was his seventh of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Brandon Sproat in the fifth inning. After allowing another run, Sproat was chased from the ballgame before completing five innings. Swanson is still hitting .194 on the season despite his power.