Two Unsuspecting Cubs Stars

The Chicago Cubs roster is filled with current or sure fire future stars. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jake Arrieta, Jason Heyward, and Jon Lester are guys you expect big results from. Then there are the next guys, like Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler that deepen the Cubs lineup. These Cubs stars all are difference makers that should fill box scores all season long.

Two guys you might not have expected to lean on, but will have huge seasons nonetheless, are Kyle Hendricks and Jorge Soler.

Jorge Soler

There are some out there that have forgotten, Jorge Soler was predicted to win the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year ahead of that other Cubs superstar youngster, Kris Bryant. While his 2015 season was filled with injuries, Cubs fans and the world saw his talent as it was on display during the playoffs last season (.474/.600/1.105 with a 1.705 OPS).

Initially pegged as a potential trade chip, Soler will have the opportunity to show the world his October was no fluke.

That is very possible too. While Soler looked pretty bad on Saturday evening against the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 0-4 with two strikeouts, he came back on Sunday and showed why he is one of the more applauded hitters in the Cubs lineup.

Not only did Soler hit a big home run (only overshadowed by Jake Arrieta’s 442′ blast), he did something many think is astonishing in his second at-bat. With a man on third and less than two outs, Soler gave up his at-bat, hitting a sac-fly to right field scoring the go-ahead run.

This coming off a home run to tie the game earlier, is rare in young sluggers.

Joe Maddon had a very favorable view of Soler in Sunday’s lineup, knowing that he has hit Diamondbacks’ pitcher Shelby Miller hard. Maddon also knows that Soler is one of the smarter batters in the lineup, even at his young age.

“His at-bats got better over the course of the game,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “He has two home runs off [Shelby] Miller prior to today and I really liked him in that lineup obviously for that reason.”

His at-bats getting better is a big theme with Soler, which reaches back to last season. This is what John Mallee, Cubs hitting coach had to say about Jorge last season.

“As a young kid, he gets excited, and sometimes he really wants to hit so bad that he may expand [his strike zone],” Mallee said. “But I’ve noticed that you throw him a certain pitch, and he chases it, he doesn’t go after it again in the course of an at-bat. That’s what impresses me the most about him. He may swing at a slider in the dirt, but you probably won’t see him do it again.”

This is something that 10 year vets don’t do. The ability to realize, even in the at-bat that he needs to lay off certain pitches. Just think Cubs fans, how many times did you scream at Sammy Sosa for chasing that slider off the plate and in the dirt? Or Shawon Dunston for that matter?

That’s not everything however. Soler is equipped to be a legit slugger, but one that is disciplined at the plate. He might strike out 140 times this season, but that’s not what we mean by disciplined. He is learning every at-bat, and with an already advanced knowledge of the zone, he is going to be able to force pitchers into him late in games, as he will be less susceptible to chasing bad pitches in later innings.

Additionally, when he is able to force pitchers to throw fastballs at him… its advantage Soler.

Soler in PAs ending in fastballs in 2015: .387/.448/.581. In PAs ending in offspeed stuff: .143/.190/.224.

— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) March 23, 2016

Insanity.

Kyle Hendricks

Kyle has had this Greg Maddux comparison over his head for the better part of a year now. He doesn’t throw high nineties, and he doesn’t fool anyone. But he does go after guys and when he is on and painting corners, is tough to hit.

This is Kyle’s Baseball America scouting report:

SCOUTING REPORT

Hendricks’ fastball touched 95 mph in his Ivy League days, but as a pro he’s settled in as a command-oriented starter who relies on his feel for pitching, a good changeup and ability to locate his fastball. He mostly pitches in the 85-92 mph range, reading hitters’ swings and disrupting their timing. His Iowa manager, Marty Pevey, told reporters Hendricks touched 95 this season, although scouts say it’s topped at 93.

Hendricks throws his changeup to all hitters and has shown the ability to pitch to the inside and outside corners and down with both his fastball and change. He throws both a slider and a curve, both fringe-average, and most scouts prefer the curve, which he throws with some power in the upper 70s. Some scouts give Hendricks 70 control grades.

He, like Soler, is smart. He knows a 95-mph heater isn’t going to consistently get guys out if he can’t locate and will get killed if he keeps the ball up in the zone.

Hendricks however has learned to pitch low in the zone, and that has allowed for his early success (as evidenced by his 53% ground ball rate). Also when reading a recent article on BP Wrigleyville (from Baseball Prospectus) we see that Kyle’s inflated 3.95 ERA was a result of bad luck as opposed to bad pitching, evidenced by his remarkable 3.38 FIP and 3.88 DRA.

Going on, his advanced numbers make him look like a legit third starter, and not the fifth starter that he currently is at the moment.

What additionally points to Kyle jumping out to be a Cubs star in 2016 is his strikeout rate. While he had better “sexy” numbers, like ERA in 2014, his strikeout rate went from 5.3 k/9 to 8.3 k/9 in 2015. In his first start of 2016, he had a 5.00 SO/W ratio, showing that his control and strikeouts from 2015 were no fluke.

This is why he gets compared to Greg Maddux, and is why he had shown that he can succeed in the era of power arms. While he doesn’t rely of the blow it by you strikeout, he still gets his by filling and playing on the edges.

Another nugget that cannot go unnoticed with Kyle is, he won’t be expected to pitch much deeper than the sixth inning most games. While that statement will drive purists nuts, the Cubs will employ a strategy which will limit the potential at-bats opponents will have against their fourth and fifth starters.

The thought is both, Jason Hammel and Hendricks are tough the first time through a lineup. As teams see these two hurlers more often, a second or third time through, they are less likely to be fooled by their stuff. That is when guys like Adam Warren or Trevor Cahill, guys who either have started in the past or have their arms stretched out enough to pitch several innings, will come in. Not only does this preserve guys for later in the year, and keep their long men’s arms stretched out in the event they need a spot start, but it lessens their opportunity to give up too much damage.

Or simply, setting guys up for success.

So expect these two Cubs stars to excell in 2016. They are part of the reason the Cubs can withstand an injury as big as Kyle Schwarber and still be considered the best and deepest team in baseball. They will also be a huge reason for their success in October.