Chicago Cubs: Five dark horse candidates for the starting rotation

Chicago Cubs: Could the rotation be steeled by a young lefty?

This option follows along the lines of the last, but this guy has at least pitched in AA Tennessee in two different years. Justin Steele, another lefty with excellent stuff, is a few years older than Marquez and has a bit more experience than the fireballer. That being said, his 2019 was the polar opposite of Marquez, as he went 0-6 with a 5.59 ERA in 11 starts as opposed to Marquez who went 9-5 with a 3.13 in two different A-ball locales.

Steele may not seem like a great choice given that abysmal 2019, but the Cubs thought highly enough of him to invite him to South Bend this past year, where he wowed with his advanced curve ball and high spin-rate fastball that has touched 97 MPH. While Steele did get called up to the big club during 2020, he never actually made an appearance.

As a left-hander who may have used the past year to work on command, strength and his already plus pitches, there’s no telling what kind of guy we may see in March when Spring Training starts. As we already saw with Adbert Alzolay at the South Bend site, guys were taking their work seriously and working on their games.

If Steele can command all three of his pitches and keeps his velocity in the mid 90’s, he’s another guy who could turn some heads in the spring and win himself a shot if stars align.