Where the Chicago Cubs rotation ranks among NL Central teams

One of the main strengths of the 2023 Chicago Cubs has been the starting pitching, which looks capable of carrying the team for the stretch run if the standout performances continue.

5. The Cincinnati Reds

That's right the team was sitting in first place in the NL Central not too long ago and arguably has the worst rotation in the division. For one thing, the team does not have a starting pitcher that has enough innings under his belt to qualify for the league lead in ERA. The rotation is spearheaded by 23-year-old Hunter Greene, who admittedly has some of the best strikeout stuff in the league with a blazing 100 mph fastball. He has been rehabbing a hip injury for the last couple of weeks and is expected back in early July.

Other than Greene, the Reds rotation is thin to say the least. They are getting good value out of rookie Andrew Abbot, who has a 1.21 ERA in his first five starts this year. But the rest of the squad is sporting ugly ERA's like Graham Ashcraft (7.17), Luke Weaver (6.86), Ben Lively (4.11), and Brandon Williamson (5.82). While the offense is carrying this Reds team right now, they would have to add starting pitching at the deadline to have any hope of making a run.