Cubs Pitcher of the Year - 2024

Pitching wins, right? The Cubs ended up with winning more games than they lost in 2024, so a few pitchers must have done some good... Today we tackle the question of who the Cubs best pitcher was in 2024. But, first... 

Special Mention:  Kyle Hendricks
With a 4-12 record and career high-5.92 ERA (a full run higher than his previous worst in 2022), this is probably it for The Professor.  Until they robbed him of his sticky substances, he was as good as any pitcher the Cubs have had this side of Greg Maddux. Happy trails, Kyle, and thanks for the memories.

Honorable Mention:  Javier Assad 
7-6, 3,73, 29 starts, 124 K in 147 innings, 1.40 WHIP
Assad Is a bit of a sabermetrician nightmare.  His underlying peripherals aren’t pretty, as evidenced by his 4.64 FIP.  He only averages five innings per start.  His starts often involve high pitch counts in early innings and runners on the bases constantly.  But you do have to give him some credit.

Assad and his competitiveness and knack for getting out of trouble is his best attribute. While not as angry as Carlos Zambrano, he does get excited out there. Assad also simply posts his five innings, every start, and gave the Cubs competitive outings. While no poems will be written about his season and The Baseball Project band won’t come off hiatus to write a song about him, he does deserve mention for making the Cubs season more enjoyable. Maybe he can outrun that FIP in perpetuity.

#3:  Justin Steele
5-5, 3.07 ERA, 24 starts, 135 innings, 135 K, 1.10 WHIP, 3.23 FIP
If you look only at the statistics, then Steele has a case to be the winner of this contest. Steele, when healthy, is absolutely solid.  He will give six quality innings every time he takes the mound. Probably should be in All-Star consideration and MLB.com ranked him in their top 30 starters in the league.  

This website has floated the idea of a Steele trade, and third place seems strange, but it’s those injuries. It’s fair to question if Steele can finish a season healthy and with enough stamina to finish the race and be a factor in October. With a hamstring and elbow injuries this season, those fears have only been escalated, not assuaged,  and in thinking of season awards disqualify him from being nominated the 2024 ace.

#2:  Jameson Taillon
12-8, 3.27 ERA, 28 starts, 165 innings, 125 K, 1.13 WHIP, 3.92 FIP
Taillon was incredible at Wrigley Field this season.  8-4 and a 2.18 ERA (4.58 on the road), regardless of how the park played, are impressive numbers.  Taillon started off with a nagging injury, and persevered through some trade rumors to have a season that many may not have appreciated in real time. 

If the Cubs add another arm, Taillon is exactly the steady presence the Cubs rotation can use for the next two years. Always steady and occasionally spectacular, Taillon might not outperform projections, but he will take the post and give the Cubs exactly what they ask of him.

The Winner:  Shota Imanaga
15-3, 2.91, 29 starts, 173 innings, 174 K, 1.02 WHIP, 3.72 FIP
In retrospect, this should not have been a surprise. Japanese pitchers like Yu Darvish, early Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Hideo Nomo showed us that imports from the Land of the Rising Sun often excel early  in their MLB transition. In the World Cup of Baseball, it was Shota who got the call to start that game. Except for one injury plagued year, his Japanese league ERA were under three in every season since 2016. Given his eight years of experience and high-quality pitching, Shota almost shouldn’t be considered rookie. His signing was the best value for a free agent  deal in the league.  

Little more needs to be said about Shota Imanaga, so forgive me for making this more personal. As a pessimist and skeptic of all things Jed Hoyer, Shota forced this aging cantankerous writer to enjoy Cub games again, almost single handedly. He’s a true ace, with the skills and personality to force a fan to watch and not be able to help enjoying what’s on the screen,  For this reason, along with his stellar production, Shota Imanaga probably is the team MVP, Pitcher and Rookie of the year.  What a great, great season. 

What do you think? This was probably a pretty easy vote for the winner, but which other pitchers do you feel pretty comfortable with heading into the 2025 season? Discuss below.