Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks wins first ERA title

The potential of the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks has always been there. In 2016, among some good pitchers, he elevated himself to the head of the class.

The Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks  has turned in only a handful of underwhelming starts this year. Sunday, in the season finale against the Cincinnati Reds, he added another one to that list.

In five innings, he allowed six hits and four runs while striking out four. This is his first start since May 17, a span of 22-games, that an opponent has earned more than three runs against Hendricks. He’s the fourth pitcher in Chicago Cubs history to record such a stretch of at least 22-games.

The Cubs rallied in the ninth for a 7-4 win, but issuing four runs bumped Hendricks’ ERA up from 1.99 to 2.13. This is still 30 points better than second place (Jon Lester, 2.44) but it could have Cy Young implications.

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In the race, Hendricks is fifth between Johnny Cueto and Mark Melancon. Of the starters on the list, Hendricks has given up the fewest earned runs (45), though he’s struck out the fewest. He’s also one of four starters on the list to throw a shutout.

No matter the Cy Young outcome, he will head to the offseason with his first league ERA title in hand.

“At this point in my career, now it’s all said and done, definitely got to sit back and reflect a little bit on it,” Hendricks said of his title.

Hendricks set career highs for wins (16), complete games (3), innings (190), strikeouts (170), WAR (5.1) and ERA+ (201) this season.

A lot of his success came from his fastball command and changeup usage. In 2015, batters hit .320 against Hendricks’ fastball. This year, they hit .167, and recorded strikeouts against it 46.8% of the time. By dividing the times batters saw fastballs inside and out of the strike zone, Hendricks increased the effectiveness of his changeup. Batters slashed .127/.228/.387 against it in 2016.

Next: Starting rotation one of Cubs best ever

Accolades aren’t new to the Cubs, who now have to quickly pivot into playoff mode. Their starting five have been spectacular all year. Given, Hendricks’s success, he could see matchups against No.1’s and 2’s of an opponent’s rotation.

Come playoff time, pitching and defense win championships. This year, the Cubs have both of those. The Cubs know that for them to run-the-table in October, they’ll need to continue doing what they’ve done all year. And that starts on the mound.