Chicago Cubs: Breaking down a starting rotation full of Cy Young contenders

En route to a World Series title, the Chicago Cubs benefited from an outstanding starting rotation. If injuries are avoided, you can expect more of the same in 2017.

Defense wins championships. That, and good pitching. Last year, the Chicago Cubs proved that true, leading the league in earned run average and virtually every defensive metric out there.

Jon Lester won 19 games, finishing second in the NL Cy Young voting. Kyle Hendricks emerged as a weapon in the middle of the Cubs’ rotation, leading all of Major League Baseball in earned run average and finishing in the top five of Cy Young voting himself.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

Over the season’s first half, Jake Arrieta carried on with his dominance from 2015, before fading a but in the second half. He re-emerged as a dominant force in the postseason, playing an integral role in the team’s title run.

Meanwhile, John Lackey ate up innings and brought his bulldog mentality to the mound every five days like he always has, adding a bite to a young ball club.

Now, southpaw Brett Anderson joins the mix after signing a one-year deal. The former Dodgers hurler is hoping to reestablish himself on the North Side and silence his doubters once and for all.

As is the case annually, it all comes down to health. But if this staff is healthy, Joe Maddon‘s club is poised to make history again in 2017.

Looking to re-establish himself, Anderson joins Cubs

After a breakout 2015 campaign that earned him a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brett Anderson was poised for big things last year.

But a back injury cost him virtually the entire campaign. He made just three starts, posting an 11.91 ERA in the process. This winter, he inked a one-year deal with the Cubs – a young team that remains hungry, despite winning it all last November.

“My body feels good,” Anderson told the Chicago Tribune. “My arm feels good, and you’re getting into the dog days of spring training where you’re itching to get to the real thing. The outing in Houston (on Thursday) will get you closer to that adrenaline level and atmosphere and get ready for the regular season.”

So far this spring, Anderson has been a mixed bag. His 5.28 earned run average isn’t exactly ideal, but for the Cubs, the more important aspect is simple. He’s still healthy.

Given the level of talent surrounding him in the Chicago rotation, there’s virtually no pressure on Anderson to do anything other than make his start every five days. Hopefully, with more repetition, he finds a rhythm. Otherwise, the .348 opponent batting average from this spring becomes a much bigger concern.

Don’t expect a low-3.00 ERA with 15 wins from Anderson. Expect him to be a league-average arm, good for hopefully 150+ innings. Even that is enough to help this team tremendously as it marches toward another deep October run.

At back of rotation, Hendricks lies in wait

It’s not very common to see a Cy Young Award finalist from the year prior open a season as his club’s number five starter.

Yet, that’s what Joe Maddon has done with Kyle Hendricks, setting his rotation up to his liking for what could be a very testing month of April. And, in typical Hendricks fashion, the right-hander is embracing his role.

His rotation mate, Jake Arrieta, believes this speaks to just how good the Cubs’ starting five are shaping up to be this season. It’s hard to argue with his logic.

Chicago Cubs

“On paper and what we’ve actually done on the field, it’s tough to not say that,” Arrieta said recently. “People can rank them, but time will tell once we get out there the first four or five times in the rotation. You can put a stamp on it more then than now. We stack up as well as anyone out there.”

Last year, Hendricks drew comparisons to former Cub and Hall of Fame Greg Maddux for his soft-tossing nature and pinpoint control. Those talents allowed him to win a career-high 16 wins while amassing 190 innings in the regular season.

In the World Series, Maddon gave the ball to Hendricks in the biggest situations: the NLCS clincher at Wrigley Field against the Dodgers and in Game 7 of the World Series in a winner-take-all showdown on the road.

Between those series, he made four starts, allowing a mere two runs in 21 2/3 innings. Really, it’s hard to ask for anything more from a guy who had never even won 10 games prior to 2016.

Even in his late-30s, Lackey ready to win it all again

When he came to Chicago last offseason, departing the rival Cardinals, John Lackey made it clear: he wanted another ring.

The veteran right-hander already had two World Series’ titles to his name: one in 2002 with the then-Anaheim Angels and another with the Boston Red Sox over a decade later. Now, he can add a third to the list – one that no-doubt carries a special significance.

But Lackey isn’t the type of guy to dwell on such things. His attention is already on the task at-hand: putting together another successful season – his 15th in the big leagues.

Last year, the Texas native fell just short of 190 innings, due largely to his missing several weeks late in the year with an injury his manager took the blame for. Still, he effective, pitching to a 3.81 FIP and benefitting from a league-leading defense behind him.

2017 could be his last season in professional baseball – as is the case with most veterans his age, it comes down to his physical performance. He could pitch next season, but even the idea this could be it has to be motivating – even for a guy who might be more competitive than anyone else in the game.

Lackey is here to eat innings and keep the fire burning, making sure complacency doesn’t sink into a still very young Cubs’ clubhouse. Honestly, there’s no one better in the game in that regard. Double-digit wins and a mid-3.00 ERA and you have another typical John Lackey performance.

Fulfilling his promise, Lester leads Cubs to a title

When the Cubs made their free agent pitch to Jon Lester, they put together a presentation centered around him being the guy to break the curse.

Little did they know, two years later, that situation played out perfectly. Lester stepped up, winning 19 games over the course of the regular season, taking the ball time and time again on baseball’s biggest stage in October.

And, after a second-place Cy Young finish, the southpaw is ready to do it all again in 2017.

“The championships and the World Series — that’s stuff you can’t predict,” he told CSN Chicago. “It’s stuff you strive to do every single year. So that’s all we’re going to focus on again. Our team goal again is to win a World Series.”

$155 million is a lot of money – no matter how you slice it. But since he joined the Cubs, Lester has been a true ace. In two years, he’s won 30 games, pitching to a 2.84 earned run average and 1.070 WHIP.

Both seasons, he broke the 200-inning benchmark. Last year, he earned the fourth All-Star selection of his big league career. Along with teammate David Ross, he led a Cubs team to heights we’d only imagined prior to last season.

Now, Ross is retired – taking up residence on Dancing with the Stars. Lester is paired with backstop Willson Contreras, marking the first time he’s pitched without Ross regularly since he joined the Cubs.

Some things have changed, there’s no doubt. But don’t expect anything but the best from Lester: it’s all he knows.