The Cubs fast start to the season and historical run differential masked the fact Jason Heyward was not putting up the numbers expected from the biggest free agent signing in franchise history. With the Cubs playing .500-ball over the last 10 games and dropping series to the Padres and Brewers, Heyward’s numbers are under the microscope with a large portion of the fan base and media focused on his lack of production.

Heyward’s nine-game hitting streak was snapped Thursday. Heyward went 0-for-5 and struck out swinging with the tying runs on base to end the game. Even with the 0-for on Thursday, Heyward is batting .276/.364/.379 over his last seven games.

This month (14 games) Heyward has a .228/.313/.298 line with a .611 OPS and in April (22 games) Heyward had a .224/.333/.271 slash line with a .604 OPS. Not exactly the numbers expected from Heyward, but in-line with his career numbers.

Heyward has produced a .225/.318/.387 line during his career in the first month of the season with a .705 OPS. And in May, Heyward has put together a .248/.349/.395 slash line with a .745 OPS. Heyward’s power numbers are a little low this season, likely due to the sore wrist, but his batting average and on-base percentage are not much lower than his career numbers.

Russ La Croix went deeper into the numbers and looked at how Heyward performed through his team’s first 39 games in each of his seven years in the majors.

Joe Maddon is not expected to make major changes to his lineup. And that includes leaving Heyward in the two-hole behind Dexter Fowler and in front of Kris Bryant on most days.

For the season, Heyward is batting .225/.325/.282 with five doubles and a home run for a .607 OPS. And outside of Wrigley, Heyward is hitting .265/.359/.353 with three doubles and a home run for a .712 OPS.

With less than two weeks left in May, it should be pointed out that Jason Heyward is a career .281/.352/.455 hitter in June with a .807 OPS.

• Jason Heyward’s Page on Baseball-Reference

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