9/19/2023 0 Comments 2018 mlb schedule cubsComparisons to Greg Maddux are hackneyed, but they do get the point across. Hendricks’ fastball sits in the mid-80’s, but he uses tremendous movement and deception to induce weak contact. He finished third behind Lester in Cy Young voting in 2016, then followed that up last year with a 3.03 ERA and a 123/40 K/BB ratio in 139 2/3 innings. He has quietly become one of the most reliable starters in the game. Kyle Hendricks returns for his fourth full season in the majors. The 34-year-old is clearly not out of gas yet – he finished second in NL Cy Young balloting in 2016 – but things are going to get tougher and tougher the deeper into his 30’s he gets. Lester’s walk rate hit a five-year high, he allowed home runs at his highest rate as a percentage of fly balls, and was markedly worse at stranding runners who reached base. The lefty finished with a 4.33 ERA and a 180/60 K/BB ratio in 180 2/3 innings. Chatwood should enjoy his new digs.īoth Darvish and Chatwood will pitch behind Jon Lester, who had his worst season last year since 2012. While Wrigley Field isn’t the most pitcher-friendly park, it looks like Petco Park in comparison to Coors Field. At other teams’ ballparks, he owns a 3.31 ERA. At Coors Field, his home park since 2012, he has a 5.17 ERA. His numbers are underwhelming, but he has significant splits. That’s something new Cubs pitching coach Jim Hickey must be confident in being able to fix and prevent going forward.Ĭhatwood, meanwhile, has spent most of his major league career with the Rockies. It was revealed after the fact that Darvish had been tipping his pitches. He had two solid starts in Game 3 of both the NLDS and NLCS, but he famously struggled in the World Series against the Astros. Between the Rangers and Dodgers last year, Darvish posted a 3.86 ERA with 209 strikeouts and 58 walks across 186 2/3 innings. During the offseason, the Cubs signed Yu Darvish (six years, $126 million), Tyler Chatwood (3/$38M), Brandon Morrow (2/$21M), Steve Cishek (2/$13M), Drew Smyly (2/$10M), and Brian Duensing (2/$7M).ĭarvish and Chatwood marked the Cubs’ answer to losing Jake Arrieta and John Lackey to free agency. This past October, they were knocked out of the NLCS by the Dodgers in five games. The club won 92 games, winning the NL Central, but that marked an 11-win decline from the previous season in which they won the World Series. Perhaps motivated by a 2017 season that underwhelmed, the Cubs did anything but stand pat. Between now and Opening Day, HardballTalk will take a look at each of baseball’s 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2018 season.
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