Is it 2016 all over again? The Chicago Cubs aren't exactly poised to win another World Series as things stand, but Kyle Hendricks has been playing like his prime self of late.
Hendricks has played in five games since coming back from nearly a year away from the mound after suffering a shoulder injury in July of 2022. After three so-so starts to begin his 2023 season wherein he gave up six hits in each with a 4.70 ERA, he's been lights out in his last two contests. He's given up just six hits combined over the last two starts, going 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA.
The “secret” to his success of late? Marching to his own beat, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“The secret to Kyle Hendricks’ recent success is that he informed the Cubs that he’s going to pitch his own style, calling his own pitches, and not change his ways just to fit into an algorithm.”
Whether he can turn a scorching two-game stretch into sustained success remains to be seen. But it's looked promising for the Cubs' longest-tenured player on their roster.
Kyle Hendricks has been with Chicago for a full decade, starting his MLB career with the Cubs in 2014 and has yet to relocate since. He's never been in the running for best pitcher in baseball, but he's had a couple of stand-out campaigns that garnered him a few Cy Young votes over the years.
After back-to-back years of posting career-worst ERAs in 2021 and 2022, the only two campaigns wherein he held an ERA over 4.00, Kyle Hendricks has looked like the dependable starter Cubs fans have grown familiar with thus far.
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