2023 Season Report Cards: Starting Pitchers

Ross Cameron - USA Today Sports

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Tue Oct 17 11:18:56 GMT-04:00 2023

Now that we have rolled through the positional report cards, it is time to move on to the pitching, which is what this team needs to continue to focus on this offseason. Despite four starters making at least 20 starts this season, the Cubs still used eight starters this season, and for the most part, all of them had success in spurts, but also went through some struggles at different times.

Many of the struggles came late in the season, as most of the rotation was filled with young guys trying to prove themselves for a long-term role on this team. Given that the Cubs went through so many starters this season, the starting pitcher report cards will be broken down into three parts. Part one, which we will discuss today, will break down the big guns or those who appear to be locked in the rotation for next season.

These guys should open the year as the top three starters next season unless the Cubs add a starter, but when healthy, they will also give you 30-plus starts and be significant inning-eaters. You saw that last season, although one of these guys began to dieoff at the end after surpassing his career high in innings by nearly 55 innings. Here are the season grades for the big guns in the rotation.

Marcus Stroman

When the Cubs added Marcus Stroman two years ago, the thought was for him to stabilize a young and unproven rotation while the Cubs continued to develop starters. He did that at times last season, but after his horrendous second half, there are questions regarding his future, although it does look like he will pick up his third-year option to remain in Chicago.

Throughout the first two months, there was not a better starter in baseball than Stroman, as he was the definition of an ace. As the season went on, the inconsistencies of Stroman started to emerge, hence why he has always been a .500 pitcher. Stroman then suffered a rash of injuries from late June on and was never the same as his once-promising season came to a crashing halt.

For the season, Stroman did reach 10 wins, but limped to the finish line, going 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA. He is now 77-76 with a 3.65 career ERA, as his inconsistencies on the mound continued to show during the second half. The Cubs had an opportunity to trade him when his value was high, but his injury prevented that, and they will now face a decision on him at some point this season.

Season Grade C: This grade was relatively easy to give Stroman. If you base his performance on the first two months, Stroman would receive an A. If you go off of his final two months, he would receive an F. The average is a C, where his performance was from June 15 to July 12, leading up to his injury that saw him miss time. Stroman will be under the biggest microscope next season and under a ton of pressure to prove his worth in 2024.

Justin Steele:

Was there a bigger surprise than Justin Steele in 2023? I think not as Steele not only proved he could be a reliable lefty, but emerged as the Ace of this Cubs staff. Despite his injury history in the minors, Steele has remained primarily healthy in the MLB and is exactly what the Cubs hoped when they talked about developing home-grown pitching.

Across his three MLB seasons, Steele has appeared in 74 games (63 starts) and has performed very well, going 24-16 with a respectable 3.30 ERA. That included his impressive 16-5 campaign with a 3.06 ERA this season. At one point, Steele was sitting at 2.41 and leading the National League in ERA until fading during September. Some would look at his workload as the reason for that, as Steele threw a career-high 173 innings this season after throwing just 187 innings his first two seasons. Next up for Steele will be reaching 200 innings, as he wants to be the Ace of this staff going forward.

Season Grade A+: Like Cody Bellinger, Steele was one of the MVPs on this team and was a big reason why this team remained competitive throughout the second half. Coming into the season, many people inside the organization were high on Steele, but no one expected him to do what he did as he put together the best season by a lefty since the 2016 showing from Jon Lester. Steele will get a significant raise next season, and rightfully so, as the Cubs finally have a young arm to build around.

Jameson Taillon

Heading into the 2022 offseason, the Cubs knew they needed starting pitching help and chose to bring in two starters. One of those starters was Jameson Taillon, who inked a hefty four-year, 68 million-dollar contract. While most people questioned the signing, Taillon was coming off a season where he went 14-5 with the Yankees while posting a 3.91 ERA and has always been good when healthy.

That is the key word, as health has been an issue since day one with Taillon, as he has gone 59-45 with a 4.00 ERA since breaking into the league. Hoping to provide the Cubs with some rotation depth, Taillon did his part by eating innings, but his first season was a nightmare for the better part of five months.

His 8-10 record is telling, but his 4.84 ERA stands out, as Taillon was north of 6.00 for quite some time. Had it not been for a strong Second half that saw him post a 3.41 ERA across his final 12 starts, his season would have been a complete loss, but at least he now has something to build off of going into 2024.

Season Grade D+: I don't know what anyone was expecting from Taillon, but they were expecting better than this. Mostly, he was terrible this season, and many wanted him out of the rotation come July. He then stepped up when others were struggling and, at the very least, ended the season as one of the hottest pitchers on the team. While his season grade isn't good, if you look at his final two months, he would be right around an A- as he was the team's best starter in the season's final six weeks.