North Side Baseball's Cubs Pitcher of the Month - May 2025

We're at the end of May, and the Chicago Cubs remain atop the National League Central. Within the broader National League Context, too, they look like a legitimate contender when all three phases are working together. And while the pitching phase remains imperfect and unhealthy, there are signs of a framework coming together for the longer term of 2025. 

Notably, the bullpen in the season's second month was much improved from what we saw in the opening stretch of March & April. By ERA, it was a top-three group in all of baseball (2.67). In particular, Ryan Brasier, Caleb Thielbar, Chris Flexen, and Brad Keller were able to pitch through varying stages of the month without allowing a single run (though, of course, Brasier specifically did not return from injury until near the end of May). 

While some roles still need to be ironed out, there's a reliable group emerging, with the below names carrying the team through the month within those roles.

#3: Matthew Boyd
May Stats: 28.0 IP, 3.54 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 30.4% K-rate, 1.8% BB-rate, 1.04 WHIP
Perhaps the best value signing of the offseason, Boyd finds himself among the top three on this list for the second consecutive month. Within a starting staff marred by injury (Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele), home run issues (Jameson Taillon), or overall inconsistency (Ben Brown), Boyd has been a steadying force for the rotation. 

What's been even more impressive is the gap between his strikeout and walk rates. While not quite at a career-best rate, Boyd's strikeout rate for the year (24.9 percent) is above his career average, with eight strikeouts in three separate outings within his last four. In those starts, he's punched out a combined 27 hitters against just a pair of walks. It isn't always a flawless outing, but the value of such stability cannot be overstated.

#2: Drew Pomeranz
May Stats: 10.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2.00 FIP, 32.5% K-rate, 5.2% BB-rate, 0.58 WHIP
While even I have openly questioned how long Pomeranz can sustain his success while essentially throwing just one pitch, the veteran reliever just continues to simply not allow runs. He's barely allowing baserunners while finding success via efficiency. His 74.5 first strike percentage is a career high (by 14 percent), and he's getting called strikes a shade over 20 percent of the time. So, while he's not garnering massive whiffs (just 9.7 percent), he's freezing hitters into not swinging with his fastball movement. 

An encouraging sign is that the knuckle curve is starting to manifest a little bit more. He's thrown it at least 20 percent of the time in half of his last eight appearances. For a pitcher already filling up the strike zone with a hard, moving four-seam fastball, making that pitch back into a regular feature could be devastating for opposing hitters. For now, we'll take a month without a run allowed, especially when the last one (on May 31st) came as an opener in a shutout victory.

#1 (May Cy Young) Daniel Palencia
May Stats: 12.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.35 FIP, 33.3% K-rate, 6.6% BB-rate, 0.75 WHIP
Don't look now, but it appears that the Chicago Cubs may have found their closer. What started as Ryan Pressly's job was passed on to Porter Hodge prior to the latter's oblique injury. When Hodge hit the Injured List, Craig Counsell gave his most electric arm a crack at the ninth inning. Despite a blip in Miami during the month, Palencia has been excellent, recording five saves during the month. 

His 33.3 percent strikeout rate led the team's staff in May while he's gotten the ball on the ground almost half the time (48.0 percent). His 99.2 MPH average fastball velocity sits in the 98th percentile, as does his 2.1 percent barrel rate. It's just an extraordinarily enticing blend of outcomes for a guy that has ran with the opportunity to close games. The Cubs have other relievers that have been effective, but you want a certain degree of violence in the ninth. Palencia has got it.