The Cubs picked up an easy win Monday afternoon behind the best start of Justin Steele’s career, a 12-strikeout effort that impacted both the playoff and Cy Young races. Steele is now tied for the most wins (16) in MLB and his 2.55 ERA is second to just Blake Snell (2.50). Spencer Strider also has 16 wins, plus his 245 strikeouts are 38 more than anyone else in baseball. And though his 3.56 ERA doesn’t seem super impressive, he leads all qualified pitchers with a 2.95 xERA, 2.81 FIP, and 2.87 xFIP.
With a few starts left in the season, Steele still has plenty of time to make up a little ground and state his case.