Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks is the real ace of this pitching staff

As is the case with many of his Chicago Cubs teammates, Kyle Hendricks’ season has been a tale of two halves. The good news? He’s only growing stronger.

Pre-All Star Break Kyle Hendricks is perhaps the worst he has been while wearing a Chicago Cubs uniform. Plain and simple, the right-hander struggled mightily with his location and was not fooling anyone at the plate.

Hendricks’ 2.53 BB/9 rate was very un-Professor like. Hendricks surrendered 31 walks in the first half and on five occasions he walked three or more batters in a game.

More concerning however was Hendricks’ inability to keep the ball in the park. He posted a 1.39 HR/9 rate before the Midsummer Classic, which is the highest it’s ever been. Hendricks gave up 17 home runs, tied for the sixth-most in the National League. All of these struggles culminated in  a 3.92 ERA and a 0.8 WAR.

Now, you’re probably sitting there after reading that saying how can Hendricks be the ace of the Cubs pitching staff with numbers like that. Well in the second half of the season, Hendricks has looked more like the guy who nearly won the Cy Young Award two years ago.

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In the second half, Hendricks has looked better in all aspects of his game. He is hitting the corners again on both sides of the plate and is in complete control on the mound. This has led him to a 2.4 WAR in the second half, the sixth-best in the National League among pitchers.

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His 1.23 BB/9 rate since the All-Star Break is the lowest mark of his career. He has allowed just 11 total free passes in his 13 starts. To go along with that, there has not been a game in the second half where Hendricks has walked more than two batters.

Hendricks has also done a better job of limiting the long-ball. He has given up just five home runs in the second half, which averages out to just over 0.5 homers per nine.

The key for Hendricks has been his ability to limit the hard contact against him. In the first half he was surrendering hard contact 32.1 percent of the time compared to just 27.9 percent since.

Hendricks has also been more aggressive on the mound, striking out more batters. His K/9 rate has increased from 6.77 to 8.48 from the first half to second half. His 8.48 K/9 rate is the highest it’s ever been in his career, courtesy of 76 strikeouts so far in the second half.