Kyle Hendricks Emerging as Another Ace on Chicago Cubs Pitching Staff

Kyle Hendricks pitched seven shutout innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 at Wrigley Field on August 30th. Hendricks allowed just 3 hits and walked one in picking up his 13th victory of the season. Hendricks in 13-7, and lowered his ERA to 2.09, best in the majors.

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Hendricks, 26, is in his third season with the Cubs. He was 7-2 in 13 games in 2014, and 8-7 in 32 starts last year. He’s emerging as a another star on a loaded Cubs’ starting rotation that includes 2015 Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta (16-5, 2.84 ERA), Jon Lester (14-4, 2.70), Jason Hammel (13-7, 3.21), and John Lackey (9-7, 3.41).

.@kylehendricks28's 2.09 ERA – still the best in @MLB. pic.twitter.com/BL9iW7tiVt

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 31, 2016

If Hendricks finishes the season with the best National Leagues’ best ERA, he’d be the first Cubs pitcher to lead N.L. in that statistic since one Ray Prim did it in 1945. Prim was 13-7 with a 2.40 ERA that year, and was probably in the big leagues because rosters were depleted of many players during that World War II year (Prim was 22-21 over a career that was scattered over six years between 1933 and 1946). The last Cub to lead the majors in ERA was Bill Lee in 1938. Lee, apparently no relation to ex Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee, had a 2.66 ERA, to go with a 22-9 record. Incidentally, the Cubs won the National League pennant in both 1938 and 1945, before losing both World Series.