Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman is experiencing a significant power shortage early in the 2026 season. Through 64 games, the 32-year-old is batting .
248 with five home runs and 19 RBIs, well below his career standards.
Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs in the offseason.
His individual struggles mirror a broader team slump that saw Chicago lose 19 of 25 games, dropping from first to fourth place in the National League Central.
Mechanical Adjustments Underway
Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly recently recorded Bregman's batting practice swings at PNC Park to analyze his mechanics from a side-angle view.
Kelly said the video helps reinforce what Bregman feels at the plate.
Bregman noted a career-high 41.2 percent ground-ball rate before adjusting his approach in late May to improve his pull air percentage.
He explained that he needs to re-establish coverage on fastballs after focusing too much on offspeed pitches away.
“I know what my game is.
It’s pull the ball in the air, it’s swinging at pitches that I can do damage on,” Bregman said.
“Right now I’ve covered offspeed away and stuff away, and changeups and cutters and stuff like that, and I haven’t covered the fastball, so I’ve got to get back to doing that.”
Bat Speed Debate
When asked about Statcast data showing his average bat speed declined from 71 mph last year to 69.7 mph, Bregman dismissed the metric.
He noted that his bat speed was around 76 mph during spring training and that mechanical flaws, not physical decline, are causing his issues.
“I really don’t think bat speed has anything to do with it,” Bregman said. “I think mechanics are everything, to be honest.
I actually think I can move the bat faster and I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been in my entire career.”
Bregman explained that he was getting his front foot off the ground too late, causing him to press forward instead of staying stacked behind the ball.
He said the goal is to get up earlier and swing more off his back leg, a technique he used successfully earlier in his career.
“The more I focus on staying back and staying stacked on my backside, swinging off my back leg, the better the results have been this year,” Bregman said.
“I feel like I did a lot of that when I was younger and I didn’t realize what I was doing.”
Despite hitting . 304 against fastballs, Bregman is batting just .
155 against breaking balls, which he faces at a career-high 40.3 percent rate. He insists the pitch type doesn't matter once his mechanics are right.
“It doesn’t really matter who’s on the mound, who I’m facing, what pitch they’re throwing,” Bregman said.
“It’s more so if I’m mechanically correct, I’m able to hit anything. When I dial that in, it’ll get scary like it always does.
But I gotta dial that in.”
Bregman is known for historically slow starts, with lower slugging percentages in March and April before recovering from June through August.
He expressed confidence that his track record will help him turn things around.
“I think it helps, obviously, having the track record, but I think it helps also knowing that I’m one of the best players in the world, and I’m going to figure it out,” Bregman said.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer visited the team during their skid and showed Bregman his comparable 2024 numbers to reassure him.
Hoyer remains optimistic about a turnaround, citing the baseball proverb that water finds its own level.
