Chicago Cubs: Breaking down Jose Quintana's body of work

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CHICAGO, IL – JULY 23: Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago Cubs reacts after giving up a two run home run to Randal Grichuk #15 of the St. Louis Cardinals (not pictured) during the second inning at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

After tearing out of the gates, left-hander Jose Quintana has struggled in some of his latest outings, leaving Chicago Cubs fans wondering about him.

In his first start as a member of the Chicago Cubs, Jose Quintana flat-out dominated. Over seven innings, he struck out a season-high 12 – leading the Cubs to an 8-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

And, just like that, the bar was set.

Granted, it was an outstanding first impression. A decently large portion of the fan base felt Chicago overpaid for Quintana. Any time you deal your top two prospects – including a league top 10 talent, people are going to question the decision. But, after that start, Cubs fans expected Cy Young-caliber starts each time out.

What they’ve gotten, though, has been a mixed bag. Quintana has allowed three earned runs or less in all but one of his Cubs starts. But Arizona lit him up for six runs and Chicago has won just two of his five outings thus far.

Let’s take a closer look at what Jose Quintana has provided in his admittedly brief time in a Cubs uniform and what fans should expect moving forward.

BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 16: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch to a Baltimore Orioles batter in the fourth inning during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 16, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

Hard-to-please fans expecting the best

Chicago Cubs fans are, admittedly, some of the hardest fans to please in professional sports. That fact has only grown more true in wake of the team’s World Series championship last fall. Coming from the South Side, where he never tasted even a lone postseason appearance, there’s going to be an adjustment period for Quintana.

In his time with the White Sox, the southpaw showed just how good he can be. Last season, in which he earned his first All-Star appearance, he put together a two-month stretch where he was near-unbeatable.

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For the month of July, Quintana posted a 3-0 record to go along with a .197 batting average against, 0.959 WHIP and 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He followed it up with a 3-1 August, where he limited opponents to a .241 clip. And, with the White Sox in a full-blown rebuild, there was little doubt his time with the club was drawing to a close.

Personally, it wasn’t dominance I wanted in the Quintana acquisition. More than anything else, I longed for consistency. And I felt like I had a lot of reasons to expect it, given his performance with the White Sox.

His worst big league season came back in his rookie year of 2012 – when he pitched to a 3.76 ERA in 22 starts and a trio of relief appearances. Never in his career did he post an earned run average north of that mark – until 2017.

The first-half of this year marked his worst performance to-date. Prior to the trade, he averaged a career-high 3.5 walks per nine. His 1.323 WHIP would be the worst since his rookie campaign, as well.

And, despite his strong debut, since switching sides in the crosstown rivalry, things haven’t really improved.

CHICAGO, IL – JULY 24: Jose Quintana (L) of the Chicago Cubs visits with his former teammate Avisail Garcia /

A mixed bag in a Cubs’ uniform

I don’t think that Jose Quintana has pitched that poorly, to be honest. As noted earlier, in five starts, he allowed more than three earned runs just one time – in a loss to the Diamondbacks.

In fact, he pitched at least six innings in all but one of those starts, as well. His last start, which came earlier this week against the San Francisco Giants, an early three-run home run doomed him – but he settled in and got through six on just 89 pitches. In case you’re figuring at home, that’s a quality start, folks.

The problem with his performance so far hasn’t been so much on the mound as it’s been in the minds of Cubs fans. They expected a Cy Young-caliber pitcher when the deal was made. It’s not to say that won’t ever happen – but there are few indications we’ll see such dominance in 2017.

With Quintana, you get consistency. In his five Cubs starts, the southpaw can claim four quality starts. I don’t know what else you want from a newly-acquired arm learning a new receiver, league and division while competing in the heat of a playoff race. I really don’t.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 13: A fan watches batting practice before the game between the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs on June 13, 2017 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Be smart enough to know what you’re getting

Here’s the simple truth. (At least, if you ask me).

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Jose Quintana is a very good pitcher. He’s not up there with the Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzers of the world, but he’s definitely an upper-tier arm in Major League Baseball. He will continue to be just that for the remainder of his time on the North Side, and probably for years after that, as well.

But he’ll probably never be a Kershaw in the Cubs’ rotation. So quit expecting him to be. Wha the brings to the staff is consistency and control – two things you really can’t ever have enough of in a big league starting rotation.

Go into it expecting an earned run average between 3.00 and 3.50 moving forward. On any given night, he might punch out 10+ hitters – and, odds are, you’re getting a quality start, too. Quit expecting seven shutout innings with a dozen strikeouts. It’ll surely happen from time-to-time, but the biggest culprit in the disappointment surrounding Quintana isn’t coming from him.

He’s doing his job – believe it or not.

Next: Cubs must start taking care of business against lowly clubs

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Chicago Cubs: Breaking down Jose Quintana’s body of work