MILWAUKEE -- Few would argue that the Chicago Cubs have the deepest group of young impact position players in the majors. And while twin MVP candidates Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have been catalysts at the plate the entire season, some of the young guys around them have also contributed.

Of course, stating it that way makes it seem as if Rizzo and Bryant are grizzled veterans when they are anything but. Rizzo is just hitting his prime and Bryant was Rookie of the Year just last season. And there are some veterans in the mix, too, like Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler. Nevertheless, the upside of the Cubs' other young players can push this offense from the ranks of the very good to the great.

Foremost among those youngsters is Addison Russell, the Cubs’ 22-year-old shortstop coming off his first All-Star Game appearance. Russell has been a lineup fixture and defensive catalyst all season, playing over 90 percent of the Cubs’ defensive innings at short and ranking fifth among NL shortstops in runs saved. Lately, however, his offensive performance is starting to follow suit.

“Addison looks really good at the plate right now,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I’m gauging that on how he’s taking pitches, honestly.”

Russell’s 56 RBIs are tied for 15th in the league and trails only Colorado’s Trevor Story and San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford at his position. That’s a product of his .839 OPS with runners in scoring position, and the fact that he gets a lot of those opportunities. But lately, Russell’s output has been about a lot more than coming through with guys on base.

“I just see more confidence from Addison at the plate,” Maddon said. “I think going to the All-Star Game was a big moment for him. It really helped him build his self-confidence. Beyond that, the biggest thing I’ve seen on the offensive side is that he’s been more selective.”

Russell’s production on Saturday in the Cubs’ 6-1 loss to Milwaukee was modest but telling: a first-inning walk and a seventh-inning single that drove in Chicago’s only run. The latter was splashier and more consistent with his season story; the former may have been the more encouraging.

Russell’s current slash line (.251/.340/.417) is the best it has been since mid-May, when everyone in Cubbie blue was dancing like it was 1906 all over again. Russell has been a selective hitter for most of his young career, especially for someone his age, even though the most exciting results usually come when he cuts loose. However, it’s within the interplay between patience and aggressiveness that Russell’s story is being written.

“I just think that the results are getting better and better,” Russell said. “I’ve just been working really hard at staying with my approach.

“There is nothing wrong with my swing right now. I’m seeing the ball well and just trying to get better each day.”

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Russell had just 24 hits on 509 pitches over the inner half of the plate through roughly the first week of July. However, he has since added 10 hits against inside pitches to that tally. Over the past 10 games entering Saturday, Russell hit .412 on inner-half pitches with a .588 slugging percentage.

“There is really no adjustment,” Russell said. “It’s just a whole mental thing. I’m getting to the inside pitches a lot better now, but also the outside pitch. I’m seeing it pretty well now, too.”

It's understandable why Russell sees it more as a case of mind over matter. In drawing his walk on Saturday, Russell saw a trio of quality low-and-outside pitches just off the corner of the plate and just a hair below the knees. Russell didn’t swing at any of them.

The most encouraging thing about that seventh-inning single was that it came against lefty Will Smith. Russell entered the game hitting just .194 off lefties this season, and that’s after hitting .156 off them last season. However, in July he’s hitting .400 against southpaws (10-for-25).

“If he’s hitting the inside ball better, maybe it’s because he’s looking for it and getting it,” Maddon said. “But in doing that, he’s still not chasing down and away as much, or elevated as much. I just think he’s organizing the strike zone better.”

Russell comes up big in key spots so often at the plate, and is so smooth in the field, it’s easy to forget that he is, in fact, just 22 years old. He’s on the sharpest arc of the improvement curve, and if he focuses on his approach, his percentages are only going to climb. It’s happening already.

“They’re young and getting better, and while they’re getting better, they’re winning games because they’re playing good baseball,” Maddon said.