Chicago Cubs: Three key players for the postseason
Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish may headline the Chicago Cubs 2020 post-season starting rotation, but veteran Jon Lester is the most important piece to the starting pitching puzzle.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester has earned a career for himself with his success during the post-season.
Lester’s 2.51 ERA and 1.02 over the course of 26 postseason (22 starts) appearances is the reason that he has earned the nickname “Big Game Jon”.
Lester’s most recent postseason appearance was for the Cubs in their 2018 National League Wild Card game against the Colorado Rockies. Even though the Cubs lost that game 1-0, Lester was excellent as usual with him in the postseason as he allowed 1 run in 6 innings of work while striking out 9 batters.
Lester may no longer be the anchor of the Cubs’ starting rotation like he was in 2018 as the torch has been passed to Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish, but the veteran does play an important role as the third man in the Cubs’ postseason roster.
Games in which Hendricks pitches or Darvish are often viewed as the games in which the Cubs win. The issue is, in the postseason, each team has one or two starting pitchers in which the same can be said about them. That is where the importance of a team’s Game 3 starting pitchers comes into effect.
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Lester is scheduled to be the Cubs’ game 3 starting pitcher against the Miami Marlins in the 2020 National League Wildcard Series behind both Hendricks and Darvish.
The Cubs will be dependent on Lester to stabilize their postseason rotation and allow for the bullpen to be rested for potential Game 4s of a series if the Cubs advance past the Marlins.
The concern, though, is that Lester has seen mixed results for the Cubs in 2020. In 12 starts this season, Lester has posted an ERA of 5.16 and more proving of his mixed results is the fact his FIP of 5.14 is identical to his ERA.
If the Cubs are going to be successful beyond the Marlins in the 2020 postseason, they are going to need “Big Game Jon” to make an appearance for what may be his final run with the team. But unlike the 2018 Wild Card game that saw Lester strike out 9 batters, this version of “Big Game Jon” will need to depend on his ability to throw off the hitter’s timing. Lester no longer possesses the type of velocity that makes him a strikeout pitcher. Where Lester has fallen into trouble this season is when he has left the ball up in the zone and allows hitters to fully extend their swing. That is what Lester will need to avoid if he is going to be effective as the third starter in the Cubs’ post-season rotation.
While the Cubs will be dependent upon Lester to stabilize the starting rotation, veteran Craig Kimbrel will be relied on to stabilize the bullpen.