The Chicago Cubs have just been a .500 team since the All-Star break. Actually, they’ve been around that 50-50 mark for the last couple months.
Blame that on the Cubs’ offense, which went from an elite-scoring powerhouse to a bottom tier player.
But considering just how awful the offense has been in recent weeks/months, it’s actually a bit surprising that the team is doing as well as .500.
Credit that to the Cubs’ starting pitching.
An under-the-radar story over this latter part of the season is the Cubs’ rotation and just how tremendous it has been.
On Thursday, Shota Imanaga delivered another solid performance, despite the team coming up short in a 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. In a start where things didn’t quite click at first, he righted his ship, allowing 2 earned runs on three hits over 7 innings while striking out 5.
“I thought Shota got better as the game went on,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “Little bit of command issues early in the game, and as he settled in, he pitched really, really well. In a week like this, where you’re trying to get relievers rest, seven innings will help us moving forward.”
The excelling Chicago Cubs starting rotation
Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic spotlighted the Cubs starting pitching awesomeness in a Thursday evening piece.
Per Sharma:
“Since June 25, Cubs starters have a 3.02 ERA, best in baseball. The next closest staff, the Boston Red Sox, is at 3.31. These pitchers aren’t elite at getting groundballs or strikeouts. But they limit walks and hard contact and have an entire defense that helps them limit damage.”
Since the All-Star break: Matthew Boyd has a 3.47 ERA, Shota Imanaga has a 3.64 ERA, Cade Horton has a 0.58 ERA, and Colin Rea has a 4.08 ERA. Jameson Taillon, meanwhile, just came back from the IL, allowing 1 earned run in 6 innings in his first start since June 29.
That’s a tremendous overall post All-Star run for a staff pushing itself through the second half of the season and, frankly, burdened by a flat-lining offense that’s allowing them almost zero margin for error.
Cade Horton in the spotlight
The rookie Horton, who just turned 24 this week, is obviously the biggest revelation of the bunch. His recent dominant run has brought up a lot of Rookie of the Year chatter, even considering the loaded rookie class this season.
The Cubs’ 2022 first-round draft pick was brought up from Triple-A much earlier than anticipated, following the Imanaga hamstring injury in early May. There were thoughts that maybe he wouldn’t be ready for a full-time stint in the majors, but despite the occasional hiccup, Horton held strong. And then he went from holding strong to excelling. A blister issue in his last start put some question marks in his future, but the latest news on that setback is positive. As things look, he may not even miss a start.
Things could’ve gone horribly
Overall, the Cubs’ starting rotation has been a surprise success story the whole season. Things, though, could’ve definitely gone off the rails very early in the season.
In spring training, they lost projected fifth starter Javier Assad to an oblique injury. They just recently got him back. Early in April, they lost ace Justin Steele with an elbow injury that required surgery. About a month after losing Steele, Imanaga went down for several weeks with his hamstring issue. Then, in very early July, Jameson Taillon was lost for over a month with a right calf strain.
Through the stress and the strain, however, the starting corps has held together better than expected, showing grit and execution beyond what most expected.
If/when the Cubs push their way into the postseason, the rotation is showing that what may have been considered a weakness at one point is now a strength.
Can the Chicago Cubs regain their mojo?
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