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

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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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)
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).

Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs

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