Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks continues to look solid on the mound

With expectations through the roof, or at least, higher than last season, the Chicago Cubs are seeing improvement in Kyle Hendricks. This starting rotation had some problems following in the footsteps of Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester but that will change in 2016.

By going out and signing veteran right-hander John Lackey to compliment their 1-2 punch, both Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks were practically pushed to the bottom of the rotation.

These two individuals found themselves on a rollercoaster during the 2015 campaign, providing the Chicago Cubs with quality starts followed by early exits.

At one point last season, Hendricks had himself an impressive stretch of games in which he didn’t allow a single run. The man who made his big league debut back in 2014 showed a ton of promise, ending the year with a 47/15 K/BB ratio and a 2.46 ERA behind a 7-2 record.

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Still, despite surrendering 79 earned runs last season, the 26-year-old right-hander has a future with this organization. He has the talent to become the club’s No. 3 arm but needs to show Joe Maddon and the front office that he has what it takes.

And that’s exactly what he’s doing this spring. In 19 innings of work, he’s given up only four earned runs on 14 hits with two walks and 19 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.89.

Out of the five men in the rotation, he currently owns the third-best earned run average behind Hammel (1.20) and National League Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta (1.50). Hendricks does, however, lead the team with those 19 strikeouts, most of which come via his change-up.

With Opening Night only 12 days away, he’ll more than likely pick up another start on either Sunday or Monday. Arrieta is set to square off against the Los Angeles Angels on Apr. 4 with Lester taking Game 2 of that opening series.

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Which means he’ll make his first appearance of the fresh campaign on the road against the Diamondbacks. A team, like the Cubs, built themselves a solid rotation from the ground up with the help of acquiring Shelby Miller and signing Zack Greinke.

That series may end up being a preview of a post-season match-up between these two organizations. But this time around, the Cubs will not go quietly like they did the last time they met up in October of 2007.