Chicago Cubs Pitching Rotation Keeps Slumping Fears At Bay

The bright spot in the Chicago Cubs organization has been their pitching rotation and that is going to be a season-long silver lining.

If you're a fan, the Chicago Cubs aren't looking too bad this season. Avoided being swept at home by the St. Louis Cardinals and there's a chance to keep up the winning energy as they head on the road to face the Minnesota Twins. 

Yet the strength of their 18 wins this season hasn't come from their bats. 

It's been their pitching rotation. 

The current roster stands with the following names (not in order):
1. Marcus Stroman
2. Justin Steele 
3. Drew Smyly
4. Hayden Wesneski
5. Jameson Taillon

The current state of the Cubs' pitching is worlds better than how it was in 2022. Last season, it finished in the bottom third of the league. It had a 4.00 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and gave up the sixth-most runs in the league.

Through the 37 games played, the Cubs sit fifth in the league with a 3.42 ERA and a WHIP of 1.15. That ERA is the fifth-best in the league and the WHIP is third. A marked improvement over the past season.

This comes off the arms of the top three in that rotation: Smyly, Stroman, and Steele. S-cubed if you want to be cheeky. Combine those three together and you get an ERA of 2.38. 

Smyly has become one of the best sneak-good pitchers in the 2023 season. The left-hander is 3-1 with an ERA of 3.05, a 0.99 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings pitched. He's one of the league's ERA leaders. 

Throwing a cutter ball 20% of the time in 2022, he's cut it down to five percent this season. Useful when it tends to be where opponents have crushed it. Add in more of his sinker and curveball usage, he's primed for a solid 2023 season. 

Steele is becoming a name that many are going to know as part of the Cubs rotation.  This unassuming lefty is undefeated, 6-0, and with a cool ERA of 1.82, a WHIP of 1.03, and 39 strikeouts. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start since back in June 2022. 

This is all good but comes with an asterisk: his strike rate is an issue. It was 9.8 percent in 2022 and fell to 7.3-percent this year. Decreasing this is good but when the strike rate goes down, that's something to watch. He's down to 20.3% from 24.6% in 2022. If he can manage this, he is in for a career season. 

Stroman was a 2019 All-Star selection and he's still as solid as they come. He's sitting with a 2-3 record, a 2.23 ERA, a WHIP of 1.06, and 44 strikeouts. In his first four starts of the season, he didn't allow a run in three of them. 

His last start on May 8th was the lone bad game so far in the season. In six innings, he allowed two runs on four hits and a walk.

Despite this, reliability is the name of the game when it comes to the 32-year-old right-hander. He's a sinker/slider type of pitcher. Add in a cutter and four-seam fastball and he's the arsenal the Cubs need in their tool shed. 

Wesneski, Taillon, and Hendricks round out the rear of this rotation. Hendricks, still on the 15-day IL, is rehabbing out at the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He has yet to mark a start after his shoulder injury and hasn't pitched a game since July 5, 2022.

Taillon and Wesneski are a mixed bag in the rotation. The righty Tallion has lost both of his starts, sitting 0-2 with a whopping 6.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts. He only lasted 2 2/3 innings in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Cardinals. He allowed five hits, four earned runs, and two walks and struck out five batters.

Wesneski on the flip side is the fifth starter spot. He's sitting with a 2-1 record, a 3.93 ERA, WHIP 1.28, and 23 strikeouts. He throws a fastball in the mid-90s and also heavily relies on his sweeper. The 25-year-old is gaining confidence on the mound and that will serve him through his contract. 

The Cubbies are in a good place with pitching. They just now need the offense to catch up. 

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