Things have changed quite a bit in the last half-decade. The Chicago Cubs have become a perennial contender, winning 90+ games in each of the last four seasons. That’s led to three NLCS appearances, an NL pennant, two division titles and a World Series championship – not to mention the individual accolades that have piled up during that span.
Jake Arrieta won the 2015 National League Cy Young thanks to a historic second half, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks finished as Cy Young finalists a year later and Kris Bryant won the Rookie of the Year in ’15 and followed it up with NL Most Valuable Player honors one year later.