Cubs: Kyle Hendricks is destroying his trade value early this season

Kyle Hendricks made history on Sunday night on the national stage. The only problem? It’s not the kind of history the Chicago Cubs right-hander wanted any part of, becoming just the ninth pitcher in MLB history to allow four first-inning home runs in a start.

One day after Chicago hung 13 runs on the Atlanta, the Braves returned the favor – jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Hendricks gutted his way through four innings to at least keep the bullpen from having to eat seven or eight frames, but surrendered seven runs on seven hits and three walks.

"“It could be rust,” Cubs manager David Ross said after the loss. “It looked like he just wasn’t executing. The ball looked up. His misses were more beltline than normal. It looked like a couple balls were running back to the middle, kind of flat. Not the bite that I think we’re used to.”"

Chicago skipped over Hendricks’ last scheduled start after he reported feeling under the weather. Given the team was battling multiple positive COVID-19 tests on the coaching staff, they played it safe and let the right-hander rest. So, yes, being a little out of sorts in terms of his routine and schedule could definitely have played a part in his poor showing Sunday.

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That marked just his third start of the year – likely only about 10 percent of his outings this season. But in two of the three, Hendricks failed to get past the fourth – and he’s allowed a staggering 10 runs in just 13 innings of work.

His Opening Day start didn’t go the way anyone had hoped, either, when he lasted just three innings and allowed a trio of runs in a 5-3 loss to the Pirates on a blustery day at Wrigley Field. But he bounced back on April 7 against Milwaukee, tossing six scoreless frames – only to falter in this latest start.

These types of starts happen. Clearly, giving up four home runs in the first inning doesn’t happen very often, but most big league starters have those days where pretty much everything goes wrong. With Hendricks, though, it really stands out because of how consistent he’s been throughout his career.

Cubs: Lack of command is killing Kyle Hendricks and his trade value

Heading into the 2021 season, Hendricks carried a 3.12 ERA across 174 starts in his career. He generally keeps the ball on the ground, induces weak contact and keeps his team in the ballgame. But this season, it’s been a very different story – especially when it comes to his command.

The 31-year-old soft-tosser is walking batters at an alarming rate – 4.8 BB/9. By contrast, he led the National League last season with just 0.9 BB/9 – and he’s never walked more than 2.6 batters per nine in his career. As bad as his 6.92 ERA looks, his FIP number is even worse at 8.12 on the year.

When you don’t have the stuff to overpower hitters, you have to hit your spots. No one knows this more than Hendricks, who’s ridden sterling command to an ERA crown already once in his career. But with his command looking shaky early on, the Cubs have to have some concern given they stand on the precipice of a fire sale that could come as soon as June if the team doesn’t get things rolling here soon.

On a team-friendly deal that runs through 2023, Hendricks could be one of the team’s more valuable trade chips this summer. If the Cubs decide to go full rebuild, there’s little reason to hang onto him if he can be flipped for assets to build around long-term. The only problem right now is his value is falling fast and he’ll need to remedy his command issues if he wants to turn it around.