Predicting Chicago Cubs All-Star Representatives in the 2023 All-Star Game

Predicting Cubs All-Stars - 2. Justin Steele

Sitting with a 2.71 ERA and a record of 7-2, Justin Steele has spent nearly the last calendar year having an absurd stretch of baseball. Going back to the second half of the 2022 season, Steele broke out in the second half after allowing only four earned runs over 36.2 frames, suitable for a 0.96 ERA. Adding that to this season, he has an accumulative 2.13 ERA in his last 109.2 frames, going back to last year's second half.

Still, Steele's presence on the mound and 2.1 WAR (according to Fangraphs) puts him tied for 4th place in the National League among starting pitching in the National League. That metric alone should make him worthy of being called a first-time All-Star, at least as a reserve. Granted, Steele has been one of the more slept-on pitchers in all of baseball, and he is relatively new to being in the upper echelon of pitching. His body of work this past year speaks for itself, and he is a solidified front-end starter on any team.