Is it time to worry about the Chicago Cubs starting rotation?

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs: Quintana has once again disappointed many

Kind of similar to Lester, Jose Quintana started off this season very well and has fallen on hard times. After that awful first start in Milwaukee, the next eight starts for him saw him pitch to a 2.32 ERA with a .210/.256/.312 slash against in 50 1/3 innings. He was doing everything to be effective as his command was good and he was missing more bats. On May 22, his season ERA was at 3.30.

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His effectiveness took a dip in June and he has not been nearly as good since. His first four starts he put up a 4.29 ERA in 21 innings. That is quite a dip from what he was doing but is overall the definition of average.

It was that nightmare start against the Mets when he was charged with nine runs that ballooned his numbers to a 4.50 ERA, 1.4 WHIP and 4.26 FIP on the season. We are seeing a lot of the old issues with the nibbling around the strike zone and not missing enough bats.

Fair to say he has not been consistent, which he battled last season after doing it most of his career on the South Side.

His recent struggles may be blown up in conversation a bit more with Eloy Jimenez, one of the two major prospects Theo Epstein traded to the Sox for Quintana, absolutely mashing the past several weeks.

Either way, the Cubs need Quintana to rebound fast. They need him to be efficient and go deep in games the same way he did early in the season.