Anthony Rizzo was hitting just .159 after the Chicago Cubs concluded a three-game sweep of the Marlins on Apr. 17, but his average has climbed to .228 as he has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.
More importantly for Rizzo and the Cubs, his power stroke has returned. Rizzo was slugging just .317 on Apr. 17, but has hit three homers and has tallied six additional extra-base hits (five doubles and one triple) since then, and his slugging percentage has risen to .485 in a span of just 13 days.
The tendency to worry about slow starts from star players is hardly abnormal.