Even since he joined the team, the Cubs have been working to try to get more consistency out of right fielder Seiya Suzuki.

The Japanese slugger has been a pretty good player since signing as an international free agent prior to the 2022 season. But the potential for stardom is in there – and he’s teased it with extended hot stretches.

The key is putting up more consistent production throughout the course of a long 162-game season.

But one thing is working in the Cubs’ favor: Suzuki’s hot stretches always seem to come at the end of a season.

He’s proving it again this year.

Suzuki hammered a pitch 111.8 mph Sunday evening for his team’s first hit off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. He also drew a pair of walks as the Cubs won 6-2 to take 3 out of 4 from St. Louis.

Over the last 21 games, Suzuki is hitting .325/.407/.613 (1.020 OPS) with 13 extra-base hits (7 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers) and 14 RBI.

Now in his 3rd big-league season, it appears as if Suzuki is once again primed for another late-season surge. Over his career, August and September/October represent his two best months in terms of batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

Suzuki has a career .858 OPS in 53 August games and a 1.012 OPS in 48 September/October games.

He had a strong final month to close his rookie season in 2022 but much of that August-October production came last year when he hit .350 with a 1.073 OPS after Aug. 1.

“With Seiya, we’ve always talked about him being aggressive and doing damage in the zone,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said. “I think what you’re seeing right now is he’s handling the slider really well in the zone and he’s just putting the fastball in the air.

“We’ve talked a lot about him driving balls in the air and being super aggressive. It’s a balance for him because he’s a patient hitter. He’s selective but just knowing that he has the ability to do damage, use the middle of the field. And with that comes the aggression. You see production that comes with that.”

Suzuki’s Baseball Savant page is littered with red – he ranks among MLB’s best in many offensive categories:

The strikeouts still remain an issue – 27.7% on the season. Even during his recent hot streak, Suzuki is still swinging and missing a lot (25.3% K rate).

But overall his offensive production has been bordering on elite, including strong hard-hit numbers.

For a Cubs offense that has been among the worst in baseball since April, the lineup has needed a jolt of power and production in the middle of the order.

If the Cubs are going to make one last push in the National League playoff race, they are going to need Suzuki to keep his hot streak rolling.