After being knocked to the ground in pain by a comebacker during the Chicago Cubs’ 7-3 Spring Training loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, Cubs ace Justin Steele is in good spirits. Steele had to exit the game early after a line drive from Giants centerfielder Luis Matos hit him squarely on the left knee, knocking him to the ground.
It took Steele some time to regain his composure, since the baseball’s impact had certainly left an impression on the Cubs starter. He was finally carried off the field and replaced by Jose Romero. Cubs supporters are now holding their breath, as opening day without their ace is hardly a good situation.
Nonetheless, Justin Steele reassured Cubs fans that he’s not in too much pain after suffering what appeared to be a catastrophic injury at first appearance, even mocking his botched March Madness bracket in the process.
Steele allowed only one hit in one inning of work before being replaced. In 10 innings of Spring Training work, the Cubs’ ace has yielded a 5.40 ERA with 13 strikeouts and two walks.
It took Justin Steele a long time to break into the major leagues. Steele was drafted as an 18-year-old in 2014, but did not make his Cubs debut until 2021, when he alternated between the rotation and the bullpen. Steele, on the other hand, has emerged as a full-fledged ace for the Cubs, having recorded an unbelievable 4.9 WAR in 173.1 innings of work across 30 starts last season.
The Cubs have been crying out for an ace, and Steele’s emergence has been huge for their bid to return to the winning ways they were on in the middle of the 2010s. Last season, Steele put up a 3.06 ERA with strong peripherals to back that up after he cut his walk rate nearly in half (176 strikeouts against just 36 walks). His improved command allowed him to remain rock-solid even though both his home run and ground ball rate got worse.
The hope for the Cubs is that Steele will be healthy enough to front the rotation the way he did last season and that the comebacker that hit him on the knee won’t prevent him from suiting up during their Opening Day clash against the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers.
Behind Justin Steele, the Cubs have a couple solid starting pitchers to complete out the rotation. If Steele is unable to play on Opening Day, it seems likely that either Shota Imanaga, the Japanese international signed to a four-year, $53 million contract, or Cubs veteran Kyle Hendricks will start against the Rangers.
Imanaga has been dominating opponents in Spring Training, so he is a better bet than Hendricks. Projections favor the 30-year-old Japanese international, but it has to be seen whether he can translate that into consistent big league success.
Meanwhile, after Shota Imanaga and Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs will rely on Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad to complete the rotation behind Steele. However, once Jameson Taillon heals from his injury, he should be able to return to the team’s starting lineup.