When the Cubs signed Jonathan Lucroy on August 8 to fill in for injured starting catcher Willson Contreras there were a lot of “meh” reactions from Cubs fans. After all, it seemed like it would have been easier to just keep Martín Maldonadoaround rather than bring on a player who looked well past his prime. I definitely agreed with those assessments, with an important caveat:
Lucroy’s BABIP in 2019 indicates he might be getting a little unlucky. For his career he has a BABIP of .301, so it’s possible he has a bit of positive regression in his future.