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What the Chicago Cubs playoff rotation would look like
The MLB playoffs are right around the corner and the Chicago Cubs are in the mix. But who would the team give the ball to in game 1 of their first playoff series since 2020?
The Chicago Cubs are the hottest team in baseball right now with six straight series wins, including taking two out of three from the formidable Atlanta Braves. They've won 15 of their last 20 games and now sit within striking distance of the Milwaukee Brewers. Even if they don't take the division, the Cubs are right there in the mix for a Wild Card spot, making this possibly the first year they compete in a playoff series since 2020. Here's who the Cubs would likely give the ball to in each game if they played a postseason series tomorrow.
1. Justin Steele
The emergence of left-handed starter Justin Steele has been a true achievement for an organization that has struggled to develop pitching for the past decade. But now, Steele is leading a wave of young arms making their way to the big league roster and he is the uncontested ace of the staff. Steele is even in the running for the NL Cy Young award, with a 2.68 ERA on the year which is second only to Blake Snell.
For much of the season, it looked like Marcus Stroman would be a clear choice to start the first game of a postseason series, but things have changed. Blisters and a nagging hip issue caused Stroman's production to plummet in his last seven starts, landing him on the IL at the beginning of August. This makes Steele the only logical choice and hopefully he can gain some postseason experience for the future. He is certainly capable of handling big games, with his most recent start against the Braves serving as a great example. This year could be a great opportunity to give a relatively unseasoned pitcher like Steele to build a postseason repertoire.
2. Kyle Hendricks
Next in line in my opinion should be Kyle Hendricks. While Hendricks has shown signs of his former glory this year, he has certainly had his ups and downs. That shouldn't take away from the fact that Hendricks has the most postseason experience on the staff and he has pitched some huge games for the Cubs. Most notably have to be the pennant-clinching game against the Dodgers in the NLCS and Game 7 of the World Series against Cleveland in 2016. The man is cold as ice and never looks out of sorts on the mound, which has made him very successful in October.
The soft-tossing right-hander owns a career postseason ERA of 3.12 over 57.2 innings pitched. Hopefully, he can build on those numbers this year and help usher in the next great Cubs team. Hendricks is the last remaining piece of the World Series-winning core, and he deserves the respect of game 2 in this hypothetical series.
3. Marcus Stroman
Hopefully by the time of the real game 3 in October, Stroman would have been back and healthy for weeks. When the Cubs put the 32-year-old on the IL after getting a cortisone shot, he was only expected to miss a start or two so he should be on his way back soon. He needs to string together some quality starts like he did for the first half because his last few games were struggles. He surrendered 13 total earned runs in two games against the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox respectively while going less than four innings in each game.
Stroman has some post-season experience during his time with the Blue Jays, where he tossed 30 innings with a 4.40 ERA over five different starts from 2015-2016. Stroman's success or failure down the stretch, and possibly the postseason, will determine whether he opts into his player option for 2024.
4. Jameson Taillon
The fourth, and in my opinion final spot of the Cubs postseason rotation should go to Jameson Taillon. With Drew Smyly's extreme struggles in recent weeks and rookies Hayden Wesneski and Javier Assad needed in long relief, it would make sense to roll with a four-man squad. And Taillon has been much better recently, going 4-0 in his last five starts with 30.1 innings pitched and a 2.08 ERA in that time.
Taillon does admittedly have a lack of experience in October, which is another reason why he should be going fourth. In 2022, Taillon made one start in the ALCS for the Yankees, where he went 4.1 innings against the Houston Astros and only gave up one earned run. Taillon's continued success down the stretch will be necessary for the team to sustain the bullpen. With Stroman on the IL and Smyly losing his form, the bullpen is getting taxed at a high rate making clean starts for Taillon imperative.
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