Chicago Cubs have no ‘ace debate’ – this is Kyle Hendricks’ rotation

Recently, a member of our team asked who the Chicago Cubs’ ace is heading into 2018. There’s only one right answer – and it’s not Jon Lester.

Less than 48 hours ago, my colleague Nicholas Blazek offered up his thoughts on the Chicago Cubs’ starting rotation. He ultimately came to the conclusion that Jon Lester remains the ace on this team.

And, well. He’s wrong.

(For the record, I love writing articles like this. I guarantee one of you will point out that we wrote an article about this team’s “ace” without reading this one and the reason behind it. And, to be blunt, I can’t wait.)

But back to the point I’m going to make. Jon Lester has been the ace of whichever team he’s played on for the better part of the last decade. That legacy, in part, made him so attractive to Theo Epstein and the Cubs three years ago. But his time has passed.

I’m not going to say you should expect a mid-4.00 ERA and a losing record (not that it matters) from Lester moving forward. Rather, I believe right-hander Kyle Hendricks will simply outperform him moving forward.

That’s hardly a problem.

Chicago Cubs have a gritty performer in veteran Jon Lester

In Blazek’s post, his final conclusion seems to come down to personality. And, no, Kyle Hendricks is never going to be an in-your-face, screaming on the mound leader. But that fact only makes me appreciate him more.

Lester has a certain “gamer” mentality about him. Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’ll find a way to gut it out and do what he can. But for now, I can’t take this away from Lester until he gives it up.

I will say. I have to agree with his assessment of Lester. He grinds through outings when he doesn’t have it. And he usually knows right away when he doesn’t. Which is important, because there are plenty of pitchers who don’t.

Jon Lester isn’t going to be what he was last year again. I truly believe that. Now, I think his best days are certainly behind him as well. But that’s not to say he can’t be a 3.50 ERA and 30-start arm in your rotation with years of postseason experience under his belt. If I need a no-surprises outing, though, I’m turning to Hendricks.

Chicago Cubs turned to Hendricks with history on the line

With 108 years of history on the line, Kyle Hendricks took the ball for the Cubs. The right-hander was the unfortunate benefactor of an unnecessarily short leash from Joe Maddon, but absolutely dazzled.

He allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings of work against Cleveland. In fact, during the entire 2016 postseason, he failed to allow more than two earned runs in a single outing. Ahead of Game 7, Hendricks made three starts (Games 2, 6 in LCS and Game 3 of the World Series). The results were outstanding.

The former eighth-round pick allowed one earned run over 17 innings of work. His 0.53 ERA left fans giddy and his .190 opponent batting average further proved his dominance over the Dodgers and Indians.

Everyone remembers how the World Series ended. But it was Hendricks who closed out the first pennant-clinching win at Wrigley Field. It was Hendricks who took the ball in Game 7 of the Fall Classic.

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It’s time for a changing of the guard. This was Jon Lester’s team. It was certainly his starting rotation. But after a down year and with Jake Arrieta likely moving on to greener pastures, Hendricks’ time is now.