Chicago Cubs' Rookie Pitcher Making Major Impact on Playoff Race

The story surrounding the Chicago Cubs this season is how good their offense has been. They have the sixth most runs scored this season and are in the top half of hitting metrics like batting average and OPS.

When the team needs the offense to show up in big moments, more often than not, the bats rise to the occasion.

It's one of the reasons why the Cubs are two-and-a-half games back in the NL Central and comfortably control a Wild Card spot.

While the offense is stealing the headlines, their ace pitcher Justin Steele has quietly moved into NL Cy Young contention with his league leading 16 wins and second-lowest ERA of 2.55.

However, it's rookie pitcher Javier Assad who is making the biggest impact on Chicago's chances of being a true contender this season.

Since struggling out of the bullpen early in the season, he completely flipped the script in July. The right hander had an ERA of 0.47 across 19.1 innings pitched, allowing only one earned run and seven hits across his eight appearances out of the pen.

Injuries and poor play of the starting rotation forced manager David Ross to move the rookie into a starting role for August.

Assad has delivered for the Cubs, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.95 ERA in his six starts. His elite form was punctuated by eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the division rival Cincinnati Reds.

Rob Terranova of MLB.com wrote about the rookie's impact saying, "Now, the right-hander left no doubts about his place among the top rookies as he is one of the main catalysts for why the North Siders not only turned their season around, but also sit in the second Wild Card spot in the NL."

With Steele continuing to play at a Cy Young level, Assad taking his game to the next level and the arrival of highly touted prospect Jordan Wicks, this is a rotation that could keep Chicago in playoff games while the offense continues to put up big numbers.