The Chicago Cubs are a very weird team to evaluate this season.
Yes, their record is poor at just 22-30, the fourth worst in baseball, but that doesn't tell the full story. They are above average in most hitting stats, and even most of their pitching stats are just slightly below average or not terrible.
They also have a positive run differential at +4, which only one other team with a losing record possess, the St. Louis Cardinals at +13.
So, what's causing the Cubs to lose so many games? Well, the biggest reason is their atrocious bullpen that has only made six saves on the season.
The only team with fewer saves is the Oakland Athletics at just four, and if you're in the company of the A's, you're doing something wrong.
To make matters worse, the Cubs starting rotation has made 24 quality starts this season, tied for seventh-most in the league.
The Cubs aren't a terrible team, but these faults are killing their season. While that sounds good, it honestly may be more disappointing than just being bad outright.
Of course, the Cubs wouldn't be in this situation without some disappointing performances from individual players on the roster, and that's exactly what we're going over today. Without further ado, here are three of Chicago's most disappointing players this season.
3. Trey Mancini
In fairness, Mancini hasn't been that bad for the Cubs. In 44 games, he has a .255 batting average with 16 RBIs and three home runs. Not fantastic stats, but considering that he's making just $7 million this season, the Cubs could've done a lot worse.
Of the starting lineup though, Mancini has probably been the weakest link on the Cubs roster, being the only full-time starter with a negative WAR at -0.5.
For comparison, that's the same WAR as fellow first baseman Eric Hosmer, who the Cubs recently DFA'd. His defensive WAR is also in the red at -0.6
However, it appears that Mancini's spot in the starting lineup could be in question as the Cubs are reportedly benching him in Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Hopefully for Mancini, this move will light a fire under him and lead to him improving down the stretch.
2. Michael Fulmer
We've already harped on how bad the Cubs' bullpen has been, but Fulmer may be the main culprit behind it. Call it a scapegoat, but his stats have been nothing short of brutal this season.
A first-year Cub, Fulmer has appeared in 24 games and pitched 21.2 innings. In that time, he has an ERA of 7.48 and has allowed 25 hits, 10 walks and four home runs to 24 strikeouts.
His WAR of -0.6 is also the worst in the bullpen by a solid margin.
Fulmer's season has played out in an interesting way as well. It started out bad, then improved slightly in early May, and has now gone downhill again in the last couple weeks.
It's entirely possible that Fulmer may not be a regular in the bullpen much longer barring a drastic turnaround.
1. Jameson Taillon
As alluded to earlier, the Cubs' rotation has actually been pretty solid despite their poor bullpen. Justin Steele and Marcus Stroman have both been very effective with ERAs under three and WARs around two.
Drew Smyly has also been solid with a 3.45 ERA and 1.5 WAR. Then there's Taillon, who hasn't just been the weak link, he's been downright awful.
Taillon has started eight games this season, and Chicago has lost every single one of them. As for the stats, he has an 8.04 ERA, a 1.69 WHIP and a -0.9 WAR, all career-worsts by far. He also has yet to have a single quality start all season.
The worst part is that the Cubs really can't do anything about it. They just signed Taillon to a four-year, $68 million contract this offseason, so they can't DFA him or send him down to the minors.
That contract also means that he has no trade value, so moving him at the deadline is out of the picture. Even moving him to the bullpen wouldn't solve the issue long-term, as then he has no chance to rebound.
Taillon has been a very good pitcher for most of his career, first with the Pittsburgh Pirates and then the New York Yankees. He has the talent to rebound to form, but if he doesn't, this contract will hold the Cubs' roster back for a long time.
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