With increased comfort, Seiya Suzuki is off to a red-hot start and proving to be a prolific slugger for the Cubs

CHICAGO (670 The Score) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell was in Milwaukee the last two seasons as slugger Seiya Suzuki endured highs and lows to begin his MLB career.

Now on the same side as Suzuki, Counsell is seeing him become the type of complete player the Cubs envisioned when they signed him out of Japan in March 2022. The 29-year-old Suzuki has become one of the most important players in Counsell’s lineup, and that’s no accident.

After making rookie adjustments in 2022 – which was made more challenging by an abbreviated spring training then – and struggling through parts of last season, Suzuki has become a prolific slugger. He posted a slash line of .356..414/.672 (1.086 OPS) over the final 47 games of 2023 and has carried that success into this new season.

As the Cubs have started 4-2, Suzuki is 9-for-27 with two home runs, eight RBIs and a .972 OPS. Counsell has slotted him second in the batting order each game.

“Two years in the league, clearly the comfort level went way up last year,” Counsell said. “And I think it bore out in the numbers that he produced over the second half of the season, and that’s the player we saw in spring training and I think that’s the player we saw the first six games of the year. So, that’s a great sign for us. But really just a player to me that’s felt comfortable with the league, what he’s going to see in the batter’s box and gaining confidence in his ability to do some of that.

“Nothing has really surprised me. It’s just a good hitter. It’s a really good baseball swing. It’s good pitch recognition. It’s the ability to hit the ball super hard. Those are the traits of the best hitters, and so that’s what you see about Seiya. It’s just kind of picked up a little bit in each category.”

The Cubs signed Suzuki to a five-year, $85-million deal two years ago with the hope that he'd become a core piece of the club, but his first two seasons featured struggles as he got acclimated to the big leagues. Last August, then-manager David Ross benched Suzuki with the hope that it could provide a mental reset. Suzuki then went on a tear to close out the season.

The Cubs welcome the Dodgers (7-2) to Wrigley Field on Friday for the start of a three-game series. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs, and he'll oppose Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller.

Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .