Chicago Cubs: Adbert Alzolay next up as Kyle Hendricks hits the 10-day IL

Chicago Cubs: Could Tyler Chatwood get another spot start?

Another option for the Cubs, should they decide that Alzolay isn’t ready or they don’t want to mess with chemistry at the big league level: Tyler Chatwood. If you recall, the former starter has made just one start on the season, but it was a big one. In that start on April 21, Chatwood pitched six shutout innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing only two hits and two walks en route to a 2-1 Cubs win.

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While Chatwood has been the definition of inconsistency out of the pen, giving up runs every other game he’s appeared in dating back to May 16, he was really good in his one start this year, and another could give him the consistency and feel he’s been missing while jogging out sporadically from the pen.

Chatwood has improved upon his walk numbers from last year, but then again, there wasn’t any place to go but down from 8.2 BB per nine innings. Sitting at 5.4 per nine at the moment, it’s a marked improvement on last year, and it’s possible that allowing Chatwood to start a game and work through his command will enable better results from the ground-ball inducing right-hander.

His fastball might not sit at 97 or 98 as a starter, but his stuff has never been the problem. If the front office feels like Alzolay isn’t ready, Chatwood is definitely another possibility and one that makes a lot of sense.