La Stella has turned on the power
Ex-Cub’s 11 homers are 1 more than he had before 2019
After the Cubs dealt Tommy La Stella to the Angels in November for a player to be named or cash considerations, President Theo Epstein was asked why he would trade his best pinch hitter.
Epstein quipped that he wanted to find out if the reporter who asked the question would keep his job without having La Stella to write about.
It got a good laugh from the media entourage. La Stella had become a sort of cult figure in Chicago, with one reporter nicknaming him “3 a.m.” after manager Joe Maddon once said La Stella could “wake up at 3 a.m.” and still hit.
But no one was truly shocked to see the Cubs part with a backup infielder who seldom started, even a player of whom management was admittedly fond.
Epstein bent over backward to give him some space at home after La Stella refused to report to Triple-A Iowa in 2016 upon his demotion. General manger Jed Hoyer and La Stella played practical jokes on each other during spring training in 2018.
But baseball is a business, and with the Cubs about to tender a contract that week to then-suspended shortstop Addison Russell, they decided to trade La Stella and use the money elsewhere.
It was no big deal at the time. When La Stella returned to Wrigley Field with the Angels in April, there was little talk about the one-sidedness of the trade. The Cubs treated him to a video tribute despite his relatively brief tenure in Chicago, and La Stella told reporters he was grateful for the honor.
Now the joke seems to be on the Cubs, who apparently dealt a budding slugger for a Double-A reliever, Conor Lillis-White, who has been injured since the start of the season.
La Stella entered this weekend’s series against the Royals with a careerhigh 11 home runs and ranked ninth among majorleaguers with 130 or more plate appearances with a .611 slugging percentage and 10th with a .998 OPS.
He came into the season with only 10 career home runs, nine coming with the Cubs, including a singleseason high of five in 2017. In four years on the North Side, La Stella posted a .397 slugging percentage and .753 OPS.
The rise of the 30-year-old La Stella isn’t exactly the talk of baseball, but if he keeps up this pace, he could be in Cleveland in July with the American League All-Stars.
While bantering with media last week about La Stella’s surprising power numbers, Maddon was told he had been “using him wrong” the last four years.
Maddon chuckled and took the blame.
“I know, it’s all my fault,” he said.
Maddon said he’s impressed by La Stella’s evolution, especially knowing how hard it is to hit at Anaheim Stadium, where Maddon once coached.
“There’s no wind blowing in your face there, but it’s a big ballpark,” he said, discussing one of La Stella’s home runs. “Right-center is big, center is big, but I see him going to that spot right to the right of right-center up in the stands there.
“It was a day game and the ball carries there, but still it’s pretty good. I’m happy for him.”
Truth be told, all of the Cubs are happy for La Stella, including Epstein and Hoyer. But the question remains: How did the Angels turn the 5-foot-11, 180-pound La Stella into a power hitter?
And if he had this in him all along, why didn’t it come to fruition under Maddon and former Cubs hitting coaches John
Mallee and Chili Davis?
According to La Stella, a change in his batting stance led to the power surge. Angels coaches have the left-handed hitter standing straight with his bat at a 45-degree angle on his shoulder. La Stella’s average launch angle has increased from 8.1 degrees last year to 15.0.
“On video, it may not be as athletic of a position,” La Stella told the Orange County Register. “But it’s comfortable for me, which allows my swing to work the way I want it to.”
He’s also getting more starting opportunities, mostly at second base, which La Stella said has helped his timing become more consistent. There weren’t as many chances to start for the Cubs with Kris Bryant at third and Javier Baez at second, and Maddon loved having a productive pinch hitter available off the bench.
No matter how it happened, it’s quite a story. When the Register’s Jeff Fletcher noted La Stella had one more home run than teammate Mike Trout, considered the best hitter of his generation, La Stella replied: “I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I’m sure it won’t last very long.”
Maybe not. But La Stella’s career year is only beginning, and thanks to a postponement at Wrigley, he and the Angels return to Chicago for a makeup game June 3.
Perhaps the Cubs can update the tribute video.