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Chicago Cubs: A resurgent Kyle Hendricks could be a difference maker
Getting right-hander Kyle Hendricks on the right track would go a long way from taking the Chicago Cubs from a solid team to a World Series favorite.
When the Chicago Cubs made their run to a World Series title two years ago, Kyle Hendricks stepped up. He did so on the biggest stages at the most critical times. First, he clinched the National League pennant in front of a raucous crowd at Wrigley Field. Then, he took the ball in Game 7 in Cleveland, doing everything possible to get his team a win.
And, once the confetti fell and the euphoria subsided (at least a little bit), he received some well-deserved appreciation. The soft-tossing righty finished third in National League Cy Young voting after leading all of baseball with a 2.13 earned run average.
Last season, Hendricks again pitched well. He battled injuries though, and really never got locked in like he did in 2016. And, whether you believe in the eye test or the numbers themselves, that seems to be the case again in 2018.
With Jon Lester looking like a legitimate Cy Young candidate once again, a clear void exists behind him in the rotation. And, if the Cubs, whose offense is putting up runs at a historic clip lately, want to leap frog the Brewers in the Central and set their sights on another title, they need another starter to step up.
Chicago Cubs: Starting pitching needs to find a rhythm
Despite inconsistencies from everyone not named Jon Lester or Mike Montgomery, the Chicago rotation has managed to stay pretty even keel – at least on paper.
As a whole, Cubs starters boast a 3.80 earned run average, which ranks fifth in the National League. But where they’ve really struggled is longevity. Only three rotations in the league have tossed fewer innings than Chicago’s.
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Those three teams? The New York Mets, Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers.
To a degree, Los Angeles makes sense – they’ve battled injuries on a near-constant basis since the season started. Only one Cubs starter, Yu Darvish, can say the same. And the contributions Montgomery made in his absence thus far have been nothing short of life-saving.
Getting Darvish back will surely help – but that seems unlikely. At least before the All-Star Break. The rotation has been the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ for awhile now – a trend that needs to change.
Lester paces the group with his 2.25 earned run average. Montgomery followed suit with a 2.43 mark in seven starts. But from there, a huge gap exists. Hendricks comes in at 4.21, Quintana at 4.31, Tyler Chatwood at 4.54 and Darvish rounds out the group at 4.95.
The Cubs need a bridge somewhere in that group. And it needs to be Kyle Hendricks.
Chicago Cubs: Productive Kyle Hendricks changes things
This season, Hendricks hasn’t pitched up to his abilities. Not even close. He fails to keep the ball in the yard nearly every time he takes the ball and, even when ahead, he’s not putting away hitters like he has in the past.
In nearly fifty fewer innings, he’s just one home run shy of tying his 2017 total. And, for reference, despite being 14 starts lighter than he was in 2016, he’s already served up more long balls than he did then.
Since 2015, Hendricks’ strikeout-to-walk ratio trended downward. That’s continued this season, as well. And when you can’t break 90 mph, location is everything – something I’m sure he’s well aware of. When he misses (which has been quite often), he’s missing up – and paying the price.
There’s still a lot of baseball left this season. Right now, though, I don’t know how confident I’d feel giving him the ball in a must-win game. Here in early July, there’s just one guy on this staff who fits that bill and it’s Jon Lester.
The starting rotation not only should be the strength of this team. It needs to be. When you’re trotting out names like Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish out behind your ace, there’s no excuse for not competing.
Next: After cold start, Happ turning the corner offensively
As the longest-tenured member of the rotation, it’s on Hendricks to lead the revolution.