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

Jake Misener|
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)
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)
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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)
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.

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