Chicago Cubs: Making predictions for the 2019 starting rotation

Chicago Cubs: Quintana find that consistency he had with the White Sox?

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

Let’s use “weird” one more time, shall we? Jose Quintana battled something he really never has before, inconsistency.

He was known for being one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball when he pitched on the South Side. Last season he was honestly more good than bad, but the bad was SO bad it ballooned his numbers a bit. Take away two or three really bad starts and the numbers look a lot better.

The command was not like it typically was for him. His BB/9 overall was 3.5; 4.2 in the first half. In the second half, it dropped down to 2.7 with his xFIP dropping from 4.40 to 3.90. Like Lester, he finished 2018 strong and hopes to build on that.

It is hard for me to say if he will regain his White Sox form, but he is definitely better than his overall 2018 numbers. The way he finished last year was promising as the command got better and he stopped nibbling so much. He can put up some very solid numbers even if he is not what he once was, but returning to his prime form is not 100 percent out of the question.

Prediction: 190 IP / 3.70 ERA / 1.25 WHIP / 3.90 FIP / 55 BB / 170 K