10 MLB players looking to avoid another sluggish April this year

Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

.149/.259/.189, 1 home run, 9 RBI, 32 wRC+ in 85 PA

When you look at how Anthony Rizzo’s 2018 ended up, he had a stellar year for the Cubs, which is business as usual in recent years. Although his 2.9 fWAR broke a streak of four straight years with at least 4.0, he still produced a 125 wRC+ with 25 homers and 101 RBI.

This slow start was the only time he experienced that long of a slump last year, too. He didn’t finish any month with a wRC+ lower than 108 once the calendar turned from April to May.

With a division as stacked as the National League Central, the Cubs need their big guns firing on all cylinders. While the regular season is indeed a marathon, digging too much of a hole in April may make it too hard to get out of by the time summer turns into fall.

One trend Rizzo will try to continue resides in his plate discipline. He’s produced a walk rate of at least 10.5% in six consecutive seasons while never striking out more than 18.8% of the time. After posting a 16.0% strikeout rate in 2016, he’s set new single-season career-best marks each of the last two years, culminating with a 12.0% clip in ’18.