Kyle Hendricks got off to a rough start in 2019, so much so that it prompted me to discuss the possibility of using an opener for his outings. In his first five starts of the year, Hendricks went 1-4 with a 5.33 ERA, a 1.776 WHIP and a 3.0 K/BB ratio that sat lower than any previous season of his career.
Since then, however, Hendricks has gone 5-0 with an ERA of 2.09, a 0.77 WHIP and 7.8 K/BB in seven starts. He leads the Cubs in most pitching stats, including ERA (3.16), wins (6), WHIP (1.