Chicago Cubs: Up, down, and all around for Kyle Hendricks in 2018

As the Chicago Cubs dealt with a bevy of injury troubles to their team, Kyle Hendricks found himself uneven through most of the season. Avoiding injury, he still came around to provide a strong finish down the stretch.

Entering his fifth big league season, right-hander Kyle Hendricks turned in another quality body of work. This stood out given the overall uncertainty and inconsistency we saw from most of the Chicago Cubs starting rotation.

‘The Professor’ got off to a respectable start, posting quality starts in three of the first five games he pitched. However, as the season progressed, Hendricks saw his production teeter on the edge between quality and subpar.

That being said, as the season moved to its final stages, Hendricks once again picked up the pace of his starting pitching, firing quality starts in six of his last eight games he graced the bump.

At the end of it all, Hendricks finished 14-11, 3.44 ERA in a career-high 33 starts. He finished with a career-best in innings pitched, and finished with a 3.2 WAR, which is Hendricks’ third-best finish in his five years in the big leagues.