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Chicago Cubs have two ace-caliber pitchers in Lester and Hendricks
Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester is widely considered to be the ace of the pitching staff. Has Kyle Hendricks’ success with the Cubs elevated him to an ace, as well?
Just over a week into the 2019 season, many Chicago Cubs fans were ready to throw in the towel and wave the “there’s always next year” white flag we’ve all heard in the past. After 12 games, the Cubs were 4-8, with their pitching staff off to an especially awful start. In their first six games, Cubs pitchers gave up an astonishing 46 runs.
Thankfully, the Cubs have done a complete 180-degree turnaround and are firing on all cylinders through the middle of May. A particular bright spot has been a streak of excellent starts by Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks.
After a slow start for Hendricks and an April injured list stint for Lester in April, the two are on fire in May. As reported by Forbes’ Jared Wyllys, Lester and Hendricks have combined for an astonishing 0.20 ERA over their last 44 2/3 innings pitched. For Hendricks, this hot streak is a welcomed turnaround after going 1-4 and giving up 15 earned runs across five starts in April.
While Hendricks is a product of the Cubs’ farm system, 35-year-old Lester is in his 14th season in the Majors, spending the first nine with the Red Sox and a half-season with Oakland before signing with the Cubs in 2015. Many would argue that Lester’s signing is perhaps the best free agent move that the Cubs have ever made.
Both pitchers have been successful overall in their time with the Cubs, with Lester taking on a leadership role among the pitching staff pretty much from day one. Because of his dominance, he is seen by most to be the ace of the staff, but Hendricks’ success in his short career has shown that he has what it takes to be an ace as well.
Chicago Cubs: Lester is on a much-deserved path to Cooperstown
Jon Lester made his big league debut in 2002 with the Red Sox, where he played for eight and a half seasons and won two World Series titles. After being traded to the Athletics halfway through the 2014 season, Lester signed a massive six-year, $155 million contract with the Cubs in December 2014.
In five seasons with the Cubs, Lester is 64-32 with a 3.23 ERA, averaging 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s had some stellar seasons while wearing Cubbie blue. In 2016, for example, he finished the season with a 19-5 record, a 2.44 ERA, and a second-place spot in Cy Young voting. Oh, and also a third World Series title. His .792 win-loss percentage led the league that season.
Last season, Lester finished atop all of baseball in wins, posting an 18-6 record and a 3.32 ERA. So far this season, the lefty is 3-1 with a phenomenal league-leading 1.16 ERA through 38 2/3 innings. In total, he has amassed 2,229 strikeouts against 776 walks, with an overall career ERA currently at 3.46.
It’s clear that even at age 35, Jon Lester is still a dominant force on the mound. In fact, he’s pitching at least as great, if not greater than he ever has in his career. How is he doing it?
According to Matt Snyder of CBS Sports, despite his average velocity being at a career-low, Lester is striking out 24.7 percent of hitters. He does this by commanding the ball low in the zone and on the corners. Against left-handed hitters, he pints the bottom left-hand corner of the zone in 17.05 percent of pitches.
Other than the occasional injury (which every big league player has to deal with at some point), the seasoned veteran is still reliable and able to work deep into games. In last Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the Brewers, Lester was able to go 6 2/3 innings in less-than-enjoyable weather, providing much-needed rest for a bullpen exhausted after the previous day’s 15-inning marathon.
Next year is the last year of Lester’s contract, but it is safe to assume that the Cubs will do what they can to keep the veteran southpaw around, providing he wants to keep playing.
Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks is a rising star in his relatively young career
Though his career began over a decade after Lester’s debut, Kyle Hendricks has quickly grown into a dependable and effective part of the rotation. “The Professor,” as he’s affectionately known, was drafted out of Dartmouth College by the Rangers in the 2011 MLB Draft. After starting his career in the Rangers’ farm system, Hendricks was traded to the Cubs, along with Christian Villanueva, in exchange for Ryan Dempster.
Hendricks made his Major League debut on July 10, 2014 and was immediately impressive; he struck out seven in six innings and gave up four earned runs. The Cubs ended up beating the Reds in that game 6-4 in extra innings, though the rookie Hendricks received a no-decision.
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Since his debut in 2014, Hendricks is 55-37 with a 3.06 overall ERA. He’s racked up 709 strikeouts compared to 195 walks, amounting to a 3.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
His third season, 2016, was a breakout season for Hendricks as he went 16-8, leading the Major Leagues in ERA with 2.13. That season he finished third in Cy Young voting, right behind aforementioned teammate Jon Lester.
Like the rest of the Cubs roster, The Professor got off to a slow start in April. He went 1-4 and gave up 15 earned runs in 25 1/3 innings; he only made it past the fifth inning in his one win during the first full month of the season. His defense did him no favors in his first start, committing an embarrassing six errors in the 8-0 loss to the Braves.
But again, like the rest of the team, Hendricks has really turned it around in May. He’s started three games and earned two wins and a no-decision. In each of these three starts this month, he’s lasted at least eight innings. On May 3, Hendricks pitched an absolute gem; he threw a complete game shutout against the Cardinals in just 81 pitches.
Hendricks, who is 29, seems to be in the prime of his career. Some have even called him a modern-day Greg Maddux.
Cubs Insider’s Brendan Miller writes that Hendricks’ success comes from his ability to “tunnel” his pitches. Tunneling is explained below:
“Tunneling” is the ability to throw pitches consistently through the same imaginary column of space. In other words, it means replicating the same release point across different pitches so that hitters can’t distinguish pitches (e.g., changeup vs. sinker).
As Miller states, Hendricks’ ability to tunnel pitches is better than that of any other big-league pitcher. When he is firing on all cylinders, and as long as he can effectively tunnel, Hendricks has the ability to be on the same level with the likes of Max Scherzer or Chris Sale.
Next. Yu Darvish ready to face Jake Arrieta at Wrigley. dark
The only thing keeping Hendricks from being considered the ace of the Cubs staff might be Jon Lester. If we must choose just one of the two to be the ace, Lester’s greater career success would likely lend him that title. However, if there is room for two aces on a staff, then both Hendricks and Lester have the capability to lead a pitching staff to great success.