Chicago Cubs: 2 players who’ve justified team’s faith and 1 who hasn’t

Chicago Cubs: Trevor Williams has been dead weight on this staff

Look, I don’t judge a guy for hitting the IL after having an emergency appendectomy. Totally understandable. I’m wishing Trevor Williams all the best in his recovery. But even prior to that, he’s missed the mark and has hardly been what I’d call a productive member of the starting rotation.

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The Cubs brought Williams in this offseason in hopes of helping him recapture what he showed back in 2016 with the Pirates, when he worked to a 3.11 ERA in 31 starts. But instead of him finding his footing, he’s simply carried his struggles from 2019 and 2020 into 2021, struggling to a 5.36 ERA in 10 starts.

His walk rate would be a career-high, as would his WHIP. Opponents are not only hitting him, they’re hitting him hard (just look at his max and average exit velocity numbers). Hoyer decided that, after sending Yu Darvish on his way in a trade with the Padres, he’d assemble a rotation that, hopefully, would be greater than the sum of its parts.

Instead, it’s been a roller coaster to-date, with more bad than good and the Cubs eyeing the trade deadline in need of starting rotation reinforcements. Had guys like Williams or Jake Arrieta pitched better early in the year, this team might find itself in an even stronger position approaching the summer months.

There’s still plenty of time left for these Chicago Cubs to either turn things around (Williams and Happ) or prove their performance so far hasn’t been a fluke (Wisdom). But the clock is ticking.