Chicago Cubs: A lot to like from the starting rotation in recent days

Several pitchers who will start for the Chicago Cubs in 2019 have impressed lately, including a name you absolutely wouldn’t expect to see on this list.

For the Chicago Cubs to return to the World Series in 2019, they’re going to need all-hands-on-deck, especially when it comes to the starting rotation. There’s no disputing the talent in this pitching staff, anchored by multiple guys who’ve found themselves in the Cy Young conversation at some point in their career.

That’s the caveat, though. Cole Hamels, who turned in a pair of scoreless frames this week in Cactus League action, last received Cy Young votes in 2014  as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Granted, he was stellar last season after coming over via trade, especially in the month of August, but he’s still a 35-year-old lefty with more than 2,500 innings on his arm.

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Thankfully for Hamels, there’s depth behind him in the rotation. And that’s not to mention Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, both of whom are more than capable of pitching like an ace. The former is one of baseball’s best big-game performers and Hendricks pitched the pennant-clinching game of the NLCS three years ago, along with starting Game 7 of the 2016 World Series

Speaking of Hendricks, the soft-tossing right-hander made his Cactus League debut this week, as well, tossing a pair of highly efficient innings in which he struck out one and walked none. Getting a full season of a premium Kyle Hendricks would go a long way in assuaging any concerns fans have about the rotation.

Obviously, the fact that both Hamels and Lester are in their age-35 campaign stands out. But we still don’t really know what to expect from Yu Darvish one year removed from a season in which he made just eight starts and was completely ineffective when he did manage to take the ball. And let’s not dredge up his fifth-inning woes – for all our sakes.

Jose Quintana is yet to pitch like the guy we – and the Chicago Cubs – hoped for when we sent Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease to the White Sox a couple of years ago. But he’s heading into the spring looking to expand his repertoire and, so far, the results have been promising (two scoreless innings).

If Quintana can push his numbers closer to what we saw when he pitched on the South Side, the rotation becomes much deeper and takes some of the pressure off the top of the staff. Another guy looking for redemption in 2019? Tyler Chatwood.

Of course, the erratic right-hander led all of Major League Baseball in base-on-balls last year (despite being pulled from the Cubs’ rotation in the second half). But on Friday, he turned in three innings and did not allow a single free pass. If you’re wondering, that’s a feat he did not accomplish even one time last season.

In an admittedly small sample size this spring, all signs are pointing in the right direction for a Cubs starting rotation that could very well match the historic showing of the 2016 staff. It’s too early for such connections, but it’s still fun to imagine such dominance from this group in 2019.