Chicago Cubs: Jon Lester is the club ace through and through

Chicago Cubs: An “ace” until the end

Hands down, Jon Lester, will be the Cubs ace until he hangs up his cleats. He has been the most reliable, consistent pitcher the club has had in the previous few seasons, outside of Kyle Hendricks. The incredible nature of his grind has allowed Lester to establish himself as a staple in Cubs lore.

Over the course of his Cubs career, the cancer survivor has been worth an impressive fWAR of 13.5, while posting a 3.36 ERA and an above-average FIP and xFIP, respectively. This season, he is 16-6 with a 3.43 ERA. While his strikeouts are down and his walks are up, he is finding greater consistency on the hill because of the increased use of his curveball and changeup. Seemingly, it has helped him to be as impressive as he has been with his decrease in other statistical categories.

Fangraphs has a pitching category known as Clutch, which measures a players ability in high-leverage situations versus a context-neutral case. For Lester, he has a near excellent 1.53 clutch rating in 2018, up from his disastrous -0.11 last season. An ace is someone who should be counted on in high-leverage situations. In the case of Jon Lester, he is stepping up admirably to ease the anxiety of the cliff-jumping Cubs fans, seemingly teetering on edge on a daily basis.

The Chicago Cubs are on a collision course with the postseason once again. As a team which has been in a prime position in three straight seasons, as well as the established managerial leadership, they are ultimately primed to make some noise. It should begin with Jon Lester, as he is someone who can be counted on to bring the Cubs back to championship glory.