Aces are wild for Cubs |
Justin Steele returned from injury last night to make his first start since Opening Day in Arlington. He was cruising against the Rangers before going down with a hamstring strain that sidelined him all of April.
Steele, a 2023 All-Star and fifth-place finisher in the NL Cy Young voting, emerged as an ace for the Cubs pitching staff last season as he flirted with the National League ERA title. The Cubs were counting on Steele to pick up where he left off in 2024. Steele allowed just one run in 4.2 innings before injuring his hamstring against the reigning champs. On Monday, Steele tossed 4.2 scoreless innings (on a 70-pitch count) in his return from the injured list. His season ERA — albeit after two shortened starts — sits at a sparkling 0.96. The Cubs have their ace back, but he joins a rotation that has shown to be full of aces in 2024. Shöta Imanaga has been, undoubtedly, baseball’s best pitcher in 2024. Starting with a dazzling six-shutout inning and nine-strikeout performance in his MLB debut, Imanaga has quickly turned heads and become an instant fan favorite in Chicago. His brilliance has continued throughout his six starts this season. The Japanese rookie is 5-0, with an unprecedented 0.78 ERA — including 35 strikeouts in 34.2 innings and only four walks. Imanaga’s stellar start to his career has overshadowed another Cubs starter’s success in the early going. Javier Assad was initially slated to come out of the bullpen, but a late Spring Training injury to Jameson Taillon slotted Assad into the Cubs’ starting rotation. So far in his career, he has been excellent — and equally effective — in both the bullpen and the starting rotation. In his 45 career games pitched, 23 have been as a starter, and 22 have been out of the bullpen. He has a 2.59 ERA as a starter in 128.1 innings and a 3.18 ERA in 56.2 innings as a reliever. The point is the Cubs are confident wherever they use Assad. However, Assad is pushing to stay in the Cubs’ rotation this season. The 26-year-old has a 3-0 record with a 1.66 ERA in seven starts this year. Since he entered the MLB, he has had the same starter’s ERA as Shohei Ohtani (2.59), and only Clayton Kershaw and Sonny Gray have been lower since 2022. Since he became a regular starter last season, nobody has been better. Assad has stayed in the rotation even since Taillon’s return from injury due to various injuries to players like Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Wicks. However, he has made a case that he belongs there permanently. Taillon was disappointing in his first season with the Cubs last year. The right-hander signed a four-year, 68 million-dollar deal ahead of the 2023 season and pitched to a 4.84 ERA in his first year in Chicago. He showed flashes of dominance but struggled to get deep into ball games. He put in a ton of work over the offseason but did not make his season debut on time due to a back injury in Spring Training. But since returning on April 19th, Taillon has been terrific. The 32-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts this season. He has allowed just three earned runs in 24 innings and looks like a completely difference pitcher in 2024. It’s no doubt the Cubs have been hammered with injuries, which often call on unexpected players to make huge impacts. The injuries to 80% of the Cubs' opening-day starting rotation have paved the way for Hayden Wesneski and Ben Brown to pay dividends for this team. Brown was called up once Steele was placed on the IL. The rookie, whom the Cubs acquired from the Phillies in the David Robertson deal, has been impressive. He has jockeyed between the starting rotation and the bullpen (which appears to be his role now that Steele is healthy), but in his four starts, he has an admirable 2.84 ERA in 19 innings. Wesneski was called up to the big leagues in a pinch, delivered four shutout innings in relief, and was sent back down to the minor leagues. He returned to the big leagues eight days later and offered another 2.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen. That was enough to put Wesneski into the starting rotation — and since then, he has allowed just one run in 10.1 innings of work, dropping his season ERA to an eye-popping 0.54. The Cubs have the third-best starting rotation ERA in the MLB at 3.04, with Kyle Hendricks’ 12.00 ERA in five starts. The Cubs will have some decisions to make once Kyle Hendricks (who is on a rehab assignment) and Jordan Wicks (1-2 with a 4.70) are healthy — but Assad and Wesneski have done more than enough to earn a spot in the starting rotation long term. Perhaps Hendricks can get right out of the bullpen, and Wicks could be the Cubs’ late-inning lefty answer they’ve been looking for. Either way, that means, as it currently stands, the Cubs rotation and their ERAs are: Justin Steele 0.96 Shöta Imanaga 0.78 Javier Assad 1.66 Jameson Taillon 1.13 Hayden Wesneski 0.54
