Chicago Cubs reliever Hector Rondon getting back on track

Despite struggling after being removed from his role as closer in 2016, Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Hector Rondon has begun to reemerge as a threat in the bullpen during the second half of the 2017 season.

After an average first half of the season, the Chicago Cubs had plenty of room for improvement following the All-Star break. Since the All-Star break, the Cubs have been playing their best ball of the year going 14-4 in their first 18 games back. They have been clicking on all cylinders as they’ve begun increasing their lead in the division.

One of the biggest areas for improvement the Cubs had was in the bullpen. At the trade deadline, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer addressed this concern in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. Chicago dealt two talented prospects in Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes to receive left-handed bullpen ace Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila. Adding Wilson to the bullpen brought much-needed depth for the Cubs.

The secret weapon?

Despite bringing in Wilson, the bullpen has been playing much better recently including reliever Hector Rondon. Rondon had been struggling in the first half of the season in May and June. According to ESPN.com, Rondon posted a 7.20 ERA in May and 4.76 ERA in June.

Rondon’ struggles have had nothing to do with any loss of velocity, but the movement on his fastball has been declining. Rondon’ fastball was getting hit more frequently than it had been in the past. However, since a little before the All-Star break, Rondon has looked more and more like his dominant self.

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Dating back to June 27th, Rondon had only given up runs in one of his 14 appearances, according to FanGraphs. The one appearance where Rondon did give up runs was ugly, four earned runs on July 21st against St. Louis, but he has been nothing short of dominant aside from that one appearance.

Rondon, with the exception of the one game against St. Louis, has been pleasantly productive. In that same time frame, Rondon has posted only five walks, 20 strikeouts and gave up only 10 hits. Not only has Rondon been impressive, but his fastball has begun to regain movement as of late, attributing to his success.

Looking towards potential playoffs

Rondon’s resurgence combined with the addition of Justin Wilson puts the Cubs in a promising position with 56 games remaining. If the Cubs can hold off the Brewers for the division, their bullpen makes them legitimate contenders. The depth in the bullpen is a huge advantage.

Having Rondon and Wilson along with Wade Davis, Pedro Strop, Koji Uehara, Brian Duensing, Carl Edwards Jr., and Mike Montgomery gives Maddon plenty of options to go to. All the relievers have been pitching well recently and the expectation is to continue that play through to the playoffs. With so many options in the bullpen pitching well to go to, hopefully they can enter the playoffs with as little wear and tear on them as possible.

Next: For Chicago Cubs, time to focus on here and now, not future

I’d love to see Rondon and the Chicago Cubs can continue their positive momentum into the playoffs. This Cubs roster is ready to win now and it’d be great for Cubs fans to see this squad have the opportunity to try and repeat as World Series champions. However, to avoid getting to ahead of ourselves, it’s still important for the Cubs to take it one game at a time for now.