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Chicago Cubs: Who is the ace of the Cubs’ staff?
The time to get hot is right now
Lester, as well as the rest of the Cubs’ starting staff, is struggling right now. In 2016, Lester recorded a 3.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This season, that same ratio is 2.81. Right now, Lester is averaging nine strikeouts per nine innings; that is up from 8.7 last season. The southpaw is also averaging 3.2 walks per nine innings.
Even though Lester is striking out more batters, he is also walking more batters. In addition to walking more batters, Lester is also allowing more hits. Last season, Lester yielded 6.8 hits per nine innings. This season, that number has ballooned to 9.0.
These lackluster numbers can mean only one thing for Lester. He is due to break out of this rut any start now.
For a pitcher that has 149 wins, and over 2,000 innings of big league experience to struggle is normal. However, it is that experience that will help Lester break out of this slump.