Kyle Hendricks Tough Star Kyle Hendricks Tough Star

Few players have had a more difficult start to 2024 than . The Cubs righty has been rocked for 24 runs over his first 17 innings. He has surrendered an MLB-high seven home runs. Hendricks has allowed more than a run per inning in each of his first four appearances, only completing five innings once. Thats a far cry from his resurgent showing last season. After consecutive seasons with an ERA near 5.00 in 2021-22, the veteran sinkerballer rebounded with a strong 3.74 mark. Aside from a six-week stint on the injured list, Hendricks had a strong year. It was a fairly easy call for the Cubs to exercise a $16.5MM team option for 2024. While it didnt always seem as if things were trending in that direction, Hendricks platform showing was impre sive enough that the option was a straightforward decision by the time it was up for consideration. Theres still plenty of time for him to turn things around, but this clearly isnt the opening the former ERA champ and the Cubs were expecting. Hendricks starts have come against the Rangers, Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks. Theyre all above-average to excellent offensive teams, so it isnt Klay Thompson Jersey as if the Cubs have faced an easy set of opponents. Still, this is the worst four-start stretch of Hendricks 11-year MLB career in terms of run prevention. He has typically been a slow starter his career ERA in March/April is more than a run and a half higher than in any other month but this is an especially rough few weeks. Its difficult to know how much emphasis to place on any players first couple weeks of the season, especially ones at an extreme. The Cubs surely dont want to overrate what amounts to a 17-inning sample. Hendricks is a particularly tough pitcher to evaluate because hes an anomaly in the modern game. He had an excellent seven-year run to start his career behind top-of-the-scale command and an elite changeup to overcome well below-average velocity. Over the past three-plus years, his results have been le s consistent. The velocity and movement profile on Hendricks pitches this year isnt much different than where it was in 2023. His changeup isnt mi sing quite as many bats, but his game has never been built on swing-and-mi s totals. The far bigger i sue has been the damage Hendricks is allowing on contact. Beyond the homers, opponents are hitting almost .400 on balls in play nearly .100 points higher than the league average. Both the home runs and BABIP will come down to some extent. Hendricks certainly isnt going to continue running an ERA above 12.00. Yet it also seems that last years sub-4.00 mark was probably anomalous. Hendricks surrendered just 0.85 home runs per nine last season but was in the 1.6 HR/9 range in both 2021 and 22. Maintaining last years succe s keeping the ball in the yard was always going to be a tough task. Even if his home run rate settles back into the 2021-22 range, Hendricks would project for an ERA approaching 5.00. That could eventually force the coaching staff to consider moving him out of the rotation. Theyre not at that point yet. The Cubs list Hendricks as their probable starter for Sundays series finale with the Marlins. Thatll be by far the weakest lineup against which hes gotten the ball this year. Manager Craig Counsell indicated yesterday the Cubs werent considering skipping that start. I think frankly, all of our pitching stuff is weve got to get through every day , Counsell told reporters ( ). And then were in a tough enough spot, right? Weve just got to get through the day and then reevaluate it and make an a se sment going forward. Were going to need Kyles innings in his next start. That could lead the Cubs to proceed with a six-man rotation for the time being. has been reinstated from his season-opening injured list stint and will take the ball Friday. He slots back into a starting staff that also includes and . If the Cubs wanted to go back to a five-man rotation, swingman and rookie would be the straightforward candidates for a move to the bullpen or (in Browns case) back to Triple-A Iowa. Yet theyve each pitched well in the early going. A sad has allowed only four runs through 16 2/3 innings. Brown has allowed eight runs six of them in a rocky first start over his first 16 1/3 frames with a solid 23.4% strikeout rate. The Cubs have been without ace since he left his Opening Day start with a hamstring strain. Hes coming off a recent 25-pitch bullpen se sion but wont be back in an MLB game until sometime next month. That could buy the coaching staff time to stick with a six-man rotation or temporarily bump Brown out of the mix. If everyone else is healthy by the time Steele comes back, they might face a tougher decision on whether to continue giving Hendricks the ball every fifth day. Chicago is midway through a stretch of 10 consecutive game days. Theyre off next Monday, their only reprieve before they play 19 in a row through May 8. After his start against Miami, Hendricks would be in line for matchups against the Red Sox and Brewers if the Cubs stay on a six-man trajectory. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports. Damion Lee Jersey