Cubs: We can expect another great season from Kyle Hendricks

Don’t be late, class will be in session on April 1. Cubs manager David Ross announced on Tuesday that right-hander Kyle Hendricks will take the mound on Opening Day against the Pirates. This will mark the second-straight season ‘The Professor’ gets the nod as the team’s ace.

“I feel like Kyle,” Ross said, “his resume, his leadership, his poise, all that goes into being the Opening Day starter, just the extra kind of pomp and circumstance that goes with Opening Day, and especially on this coming year as well, I mean, every arrow points to Kyle.”

It hasn’t been a perfect spring, but Hendricks has proven to be reliable enough for Ross to count him again as the team’s No.1 starter.

2021 Spring Training Statistics:

• Hendricks (3 starts): 8.1 IP 6 ER 12 H 2 BB 11 SO

I wouldn’t look too deep into the handful of starts Hendricks has made in spring training. This will be his eighth season in the big leagues, and he has proven to be the most consistent starter on the roster in recent years. There’s a good chance a veteran like Hendricks uses exhibitions to experiment with different things he might try in the regular season.

Whenever he finishes his career, Hendricks will go down as one of the greatest acquisitions in franchise history. In July 2012, former team president Theo Epstein traded right-hander Ryan Dempster to the Rangers in exchange for the 2011 eighth-round pick out of Dartmouth.

Since making his MLB debut in 2014, Hendricks established himself as one of the most consistent starters in the league. The right-hander holds a career 3.12 ERA and 1.105 WHIP in seven MLB seasons.

Kyle Hendricks Last 5 Seasons:

• 2016 (31 games): (16-8, 2.13 ERA) 190 IP 0.979 WHIP
• 2017 (24 games): (7-5, 3.03 ERA) 139.2 IP 1.189 WHIP
• 2018 (33 games): (14-11, 3.44 ERA) 199 IP 1.146 WHIP
• 2019 (30 games): (11-10, 3.46 ERA) 177 IP 1.130 WHIP
• 2020 (12 games): (6-5, 2.88 ERA) 81.1 IP 0.996 WHIP

Hendricks was crowned as the league’s ERA leader in 2016, and rose to the occasion in Game 7 of the World Series that same season.

He’s proven to be clutch and was lights out on Opening Day last summer.

In the 2020 shortened 60-game season, Hendricks posted a masterful performance in game one against Milwaukee. The right-hander allowed just three hits while striking out nine batters and walking none en route to a 3-0 shutout.

It was the beginning of another great season for Hendricks. Ten of his 12 outings were quality starts in 2020. The only blemishes came against the Reds at Great American Ballpark, where he allowed 11 earned runs combined in those two starts. Take away those two games against Cincinnati, and Hendricks boasts a 1.90 ERA against other opponents in ten starts.

Cubs: Kyle Hendricks could dominate again on Opening Day

It’ll be hard to replicate, but there’s a good chance we can expect more of the same against the rebuilding Pirates on April 1. In two starts against Pittsburgh last season, Hendricks allowed three earned runs and 13 hits while striking out nine and walking three in 13 1/3 innings pitched.

In his career, Hendricks holds a 3.02 ERA and 1.155 WHIP in 19 starts against the Pirates.

One advantage the right-hander will have on the mound this season is the level of competition he faces. The NL Central is regarded as the weakest division in the National League and should provide Hendricks the opportunity to add another consistent season to his resume.

The same goes for the rest of the Cubs starters, but it will be a different rotation than we’ve seen in years past.