Craig Counsell, Cubs believe 'unlucky' Christopher Morel will break out at the plate soon

(670 The Score) Manager Craig Counsell and the Cubs remain confident that third baseman Christopher Morel will break out at the plate soon, in large part because the underlying metrics suggest he’s been quite unlucky.

Morel is hitting .195 with 10 homers, 35 RBIs and a .678 OPS in 59 games this season. Morel’s batting average on balls in play is just .205, well below the MLB average of .288 despite Morel consistently making hard contact. Morel ranks 63rd among all MLB hitters in hard-hit percentage and has a massive gap in his wOBA and expected wOBA.

Counsell believes the turnaround is coming.

“He has been unlucky,” Counsell said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Tuesday afternoon. “In every metric that measures actuals versus expected, he has been unlucky. That’s just a story of what’s happened in the past, though, but it’s a sign that Christopher is swinging the bat good. And you have to believe in that, right? His surface line doesn’t look good, but in baseball, if you take five flyouts and turn them into home runs, his surface line looks completely different.”

Counsell doesn’t believe the 24-year-old Morel has sacrificed power for plate discipline, noting poor weather conditions have cost Morel a handful of home runs at Wrigley Field.

“He’s lost a significant number of home runs here just with balls he’s hit on the wrong day,” Counsell said.

“It’s a number that meaningfully changes his line.”