MLB

Cubs BCB After Dark: How many home runs does Seiya Suzuki have?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest place for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come in and stay with us. You are always welcome here. There is no cover charge. The dress code is informal. Bring your own drink.

BCB After Dark a place to talk about baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it’s within the site’s rules. Latecomers are encouraged to start the event, but everyone is invited to join in as it wakes up the next morning and afternoon.

Last night I asked you what kind of 2026 season you expect from Shōta Imanaga. Most of you are optimistic as 60 percent expect something similar to his 2024 season and 40 percent think it will be very similar to his 2025 season.

On Tuesday nights, I don’t usually write about movies. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s get to it. You can skip ahead if you want.

Here’s a new one from Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana from her brand new album Filin. Joining Aldana are Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano, Peter Washington on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. This is the site of “La Sentencia”.

This is perfect for relaxing at the end of the day with a martini in hand.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

Cubs pitcher Seiya Suzuki is off to a great start in the World Baseball Classic. So far, he’s 3 for 9 with two home runs, five walks and just one hit. Granted, he hasn’t faced the world’s toughest running backs, but it looks like he’s locked in right now.

So that’s another reason to be optimistic about Suzuki. Another introduction is the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) system. I can’t tell you if it’s true or not, but it’s a common belief among Cubs fans that Suzuki has been the victim of far more than his fair share of bad strike calls. If he can turn some of those batters into balls, not only will he draw more walks, but he’ll get another chance to swing the bat. Some of those games could be home runs.

In his four seasons in the MLB, Suzuki hit:

2021: 14 HR in 446 plate appearances (3.1 HR percent)

2022: 20 HR in 583 PA (3.4 HR%)

2023: 21 in 585 PA (3.6 HR%)

2024: 32 in 651 (4.9 HR%)

So Suzuki improved every year in Chicago and took a big step forward last year. He had the highest number of home runs and fly balls last year which may indicate that the increase in power was just luck, unless he also had a significant increase in the strikeout rate. Suzuki pulled the ball 41.7 percent last year compared to 33.7 percent in 2024.

So tonight’s question is how many runs do you think Suzuki will score in 2026? Will he recoup some of the gains he made last year? Maybe he’ll use the ABS system and build on his strengths. Or maybe he’ll stay where he was in 2025, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Of course, there is always a chance that he could get hurt and he could be as good as last year but hit a lot less home runs.

So predict how many home runs Seiya Suzuki will hit in 2026?

Thanks for stopping by tonight. The place was better tonight with your presence. Please come home safe. We want to see you again later. Please recycle any cans and bottles. Ask for your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.