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Chicago Cubs: Getting to know new Cub, Zach Davies

By Mark Steubinger

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 07: Zach Davies #17 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field on October 07, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 07: Zach Davies #17 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field on October 07, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

In the biggest move of their offseason, the Chicago Cubs got worse. They shipped Yu Darvish – the 2020 NL Cy Young runner-up – to San Diego in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Zach Davies and a handful of less-than-exciting prospects.

It’s not often that a reigning division champion makes a big offseason move that actually makes the team less competitive, but that’s certainly what the Cubs did this winter. Of course, Cubs fans know that the move was less about the impact it’ll have on the diamond and more about what it’ll do for the Ricketts family’s bottom line.

While most of the attention was given to the fallout of the Cubs trading one of the best pitchers in baseball, the team’s newest addition was seemingly glanced over, so here’s what fans need to know about one of the newest members of the Cubs’ rotation.

Get to know one of the newest Chicago Cubs and what to expect from him on the mound in 2021.

Zach Davies is a 28-year-old right-handed starting pitcher who Cubs fans should recognize because he spent the first five years of his major league career in Milwaukee before being traded to the San Diego Padres in November 2019.

Originally picked by the Baltimore Orioles in the 26th round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Davies has carved out a nice career for someone drafted so late.

In his six years at the big league level, Davies has started 123 games and pitched to a record of 50-36 with a 3.79 ERA. Davies pitches much more to contact than the modern MLB pitcher, allowing an 81.4 percent contact rate since debuting, the 33rd highest among all pitchers over that period. In the same vein, his strikeout rate is 23 percentage points lower than the league average.

While Davies’ stuff isn’t going to blow anyone away, he’s flown under the radar as a solid starter the last few years, and he does it by focusing on three pitches.

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