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Ranking the 4 most underrated Cubs from the last decade

The Golden Era of Chicago Cubs baseball had its share of underappreciated contributors.

By Jake Misener |
Seattle Mariners v Chicago Cubs
Seattle Mariners v Chicago Cubs / Dylan Buell/GettyImages
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No one will ever forget the contributions of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jon Lester or Jake Arrieta. After all, we're talking about guys who not only brought a World Series title to the North Side, but collected an array of individual hardware, as well.

But the teams that stand the test of time - the truly unforgettable ones - are about more than their stars. They're the ones that see superstars, role players and everyone in between gel perfectly and come together to defy the odds. This piece is about those unsung heroes: in particular, 4 guys who, with time, might be less appreciated than they should be.

Ranking the 4 most underrated Cubs from the last decade: #4 - Jason Hammel

In my three-plus decades of being a Cubs fan, I don't remember any manager having a shorter leash with a starting pitcher than Joe Maddon did with Jason Hammel. I'll never understand it - and it's likely Maddon knew things I don't - but by mid-2016, it felt like a lone baserunner reaching in the middle innings was enough to bring the Chicago manager out of the dugout to make a pitching change.

Signed as a free agent ahead of the 2014 season, Hammel's first season with the Cubs is probably best remembered for his role in the trade that netted then-top prospect Addison Russell at the deadline. Chicago sent Hammel and Jeff Samardzija to Oakland in exchange for Russell, Dan Straily, Billy McKinney and cash - adding another blue chip talent to the Cubs' prospect ranks.

But he was was pretty darned good on the mound in the first half, giving the Cubs 17 starts of 2.98 ERA ball. The team clearly saw something they liked, because Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer brought him back that very winter - and over the next two years, he ate up valuable innings in the back of the rotation.

Over that two-year span, Hammel racked up 337 1/3 innings, starting 61 games for Chicago and pitching to a 3.79 ERA and 105 ERA+. Although he wasn't on the team's postseason roster during the historic 2016 campaign, he still has a World Series ring all the same - and he certainly earned it, doing quality work behind the team's three-headed monster of Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta.

Ranking the 4 most underrated Cubs from the last decade: #3 - Chris Coghlan

I know it makes me sound old, talking about guys who 'played the game the right way' - but, man, Chris Coghlan did. He and Reed Johnson are two of my favorite (albeit often forgotten) former Cubs because they were up for anything - whatever the team needed, Coghlan could be counted on to deliver.

Coghlan, a former NL Rookie of the Year with the Marlins, spent 2014-15 with the Cubs, putting up a 117 OPS+ at the dish while playing first, second, third and both corner outfield spots defensively. He ranked third in the NL in outfield assists among left fielders in 2015, but was traded to the Athletics in Feb. 2016.

Things didn't work out for Coghlan in Oakland, where he mustered just a 33 OPS+ (.146/.215/.272) line in 172 trips to the plate and in June, the Cubs re-acquired him - sending Arismendy Alcantara to the A's in return. Down the stretch, Coghlan did what he'd always done in a Cubs uniform - produce - turning in a 109 OPS+ after returning to Chicago.

He never factored into the postseason picture much for the Cubs, but played a key role as the team turned the corner on its rebuild and provided big-time depth for Maddon in both 2015 and 2016.

Ranking the 4 most underrated Cubs from the last decade: #2 - Travis Wood

Before Shohei Ohtani, there was Travis Wood. Seriously, this guy walked so the Angels superstar could run.

OK, maybe Wood wasn't that impressive, but no one could rock a cutoff camo shirt the same way he did. The left-hander came to the Cubs in the Sean Marshall trade back in Dec. 2011, meaning when the Cubs won it all five years later, he and Anthony Rizzo were really the two guys who had seen it all as the organization embarked upon a painful, top-to-bottom rebuild.

In the dark days, Wood did what you needed him to do, averaging 30 starts a year from 2012-2014, turning in a respectable 4.09 ERA in the process. He even earned an All-Star nod in 2013, but that was more to do with how bad the team was, as a whole, than what he did personally - although a 2.79 ERA in 19 first-half starts that year is nothing to turn your nose up at.

From there, he shifted into more of a hybrid role on the staff. In 2015, he started nine games, finished 12 and made 54 appearances in all, racking up over 100 innings as the staff's do-it-all arm. The following year, as the Cubs made history, Maddon leaned hard on his lefty, who made 77 appearances with a 2.95 ERA

Ranking the 4 most underrated Cubs from the last decade: #1 - Hector Rondon

Everyone still talks about Pedro Strop (and rightfully so given he's one of the best relievers in Chicago Cubs history. But no one seems to have that same level of appreciation for his fellow late-inning weapon, Hector Rondon.

In his five years on the North Side, Rondon often filled the closer's role - and made nearly 300 appearances during that stretch. No one will forget his reaction upon recording the final out of the 2015 NLDS against St. Louis - but his body of work, as a whole, often goes overlooked.

Looking specifically at his three-year peak that spanned 2014-2016, Rondon made 190 appearances, working to a 2.44 ERA, 2.76 FIP and 1.015 WHIP for the Cubs. Prior to Epstein going out and trading for Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 deadline, it was Rondon slamming the door in the ninth, posting a 1.72 ERA in the first half that year.

He might not have had the flair or style of someone like Rondon or the triple-digit heater Chapman showcased, but Rondon was an integral piece of the Cubs' puzzle and has to be considered as the most underrated Cub from the last 10 years.

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