Bregman continues to show he's one of NL's best players with 3-hit game, 25th HR

CHICAGO – Even as his offensive numbers remained uncharacteristically low into July, Alex Bregman continued to say that a turnaround was coming. There was a process happening behind the scenes and a trust that the work was going to lead to a reverse in production.

As October inches closer and the Cubs close in on a postseason berth, Bregman has more than lived up to those personal prognostications. Over the past two months, the veteran third baseman has been one of baseball’s best players -- overshadowed by the MVP campaign being compiled by his teammate, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

In a 12-2 romp over the Pirates on Friday afternoon, Bregman kept his foot on the gas within an all-around, offensive onslaught by the North Siders in their return to Wrigley Field for the penultimate homestand of the season. Bregman finished a triple shy of a cycle in a 16-hit day for Chicago to back a quality start from Shota Imanaga.

The Cubs pulled within a half-game of the Phillies for the National League’s top Wild Card spot, pending the outcome of Philadelphia’s night game with the Braves on Friday.

All of a sudden, Bregman’s season production looks like the back of his baseball card typically looks. His two-run home run to cap off a four-run outburst in the fourth inning gave him 25 homers on the year. His double in a two-run sixth for the Cubs marked his 30th two-base hit of the year.

This is the fourth time in Bregman’s 11-year career that he has reached at least 25 homers and 30 doubles in a season. The third baseman has notched at least 25 homers, 30 doubles and 80 RBIs for only the third time. With roughly two weeks to play, there is still time for Bregman to put the finishing touches on what will wind up being one of his best all-around seasons.

That is especially impressive when put into context.

Back on July 10, Bregman was hitting .235/.333/.338 with just seven homers, 14 doubles and 35 RBIs through 92 games (421 plate appearances). He then homered in consecutive games in Cincinnati in the next two games and started flipping the script. With Friday’s performance, Bregman has hit .310/.383/.638 with 18 homers, 16 doubles and 49 RBIs in 53 games (240 PAs) going back to July 11.

Entering play on Friday, Bregman’s 4.6 WAR (per FanGraphs) ranked 18th in the Majors among all players (pitchers and position players). It was 10th in the NL and fifth among NL position players (excluding two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani). After Friday, Bregman was up to 4.9 fWAR, ranking fourth in the NL among pure position players.