The Chicago Cubs needed one of their starting pitchers to finally deliver for them and he has done that so far in the early portion of the season.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Chicago Cubs wanted to add high-profile players to their roster with the hope it would be enough to get them back into the playoffs.
They handed out high-priced contracts to Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, and Jameson Taillon.
For the most part, those deals worked out as Swanson became their star shortstop who was an All-Star and won his second Gold Glove award, while Bellinger was their best offensive player and took home the NL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Taillon was the one the Cubs needed more from.
He posted a 4.84 ERA over his 30 appearances and 29 starts, finishing the year with an ERA+ of 93. For $68 million, they need him to perform like a top-of-the-rotation guy if they are going to make a run at the NL Central and postseason.
That’s exactly what Chicago is getting from the veteran right-hander now.
In three starts this year, he has a 2-0 record and 1.50 ERA.
There was some concern that Taillon might not be a factor for the Cubs after starting the season on the injured list. When needing a bounce back type of performance, that wasn’t the best way for things to begin.
However, things have worked out for both parties so far.
Taillon looks like the guy Chicago can trust every five days to supplement star rookie Shota Imanaga and their ace Justin Steele when he returns.
But, it should also be noted that there might be some regression around the corner for the 32-year-old.
While his ERA sits at 1.50, his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is 4.10, meaning there could be an explosion of runs that eventually comes. Much of that is due to him giving up 14 hits through his 18 innings pitched, with two of them being home runs.
Of course, because of the Cubs’ elite defense, the inflated FIP compared to Taillon’s ERA might not matter too much.
Hopefully the right-hander is able to keep up this level of production, because, right now, he’s finally delivering the elite production that the front office thought they were getting when they handed him his high-priced contract.
