One of the Cubs' biggest issues just won't stop rearing its ugly head

When I wrote up the St. Louis Cardinals' decision to recall former Chicago Cubs outfielder Nelson Velazquez prior to Friday night's game, I asked: 'Will he play villian against his former club this weekend?'

The answer was made immediate clear when the 27-year-old outfielder took Shota Imanaga deep for a three-run home, quickly erasing the early 3-0 lead Ian Happ staked the Cubs to with a home run in the top of the first, his third straight contest with a long ball. The fact that Velazquez' home run came on the heels of a walk and hit by pitch just added insult to injury.

Home runs have been a major problem for Cubs pitchers this year. After a brilliant start to the season, Imanaga has hit a wall, allowing 20 earned runs on 21 hits, including eight home runs, in just 15 2/3 innings. Chicago lost all of those games and it seems what looked like a rare piece of stability in the rotation is now anything but reliable.

Of course, his inability to limit home runs ultimately forced Craig Counsell to go with a bullpen game in a must-win NLDS Game 5 last fall. Seeing those same struggles rear their ugly head is certainly alarming, especially considering the general state of the pitching staff.

Cubs pitchers lead all of baseball in home runs allowed, coughing them up at a rate worse than all but two teams - the Athletics and Rockies. As strange as it sounds, the only healthy member of the rotation Counsell can have any sort of trust in is Ben Brown, who was forced back into a starting role because of injuries.

Jameson Taillon has been even worse than Shota Imanaga this season

The biggest culprit isn't Imanaga, though. That honor goes to veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon, who leads MLB with 19 home runs allowed. As disheartening as Imanaga's recent struggles have been, Taillon has been a disappointment for much of the year, carrying a bloated 5.37 ERA/6.56 FIP into his next scheduled start.

With Imanaga and Taillon ineffective and Cade Horton, Justin Steele, Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera all on the injured list, the Cubs' rotation is on the edge of a knife. Perhaps once Boyd and Cabrera return, things will stabilize. Or maybe the long ball continues to be an issue, dragging the team down as it looks to recover from its recent 10-game losing streak.

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