Fansided

Five reasons the Cubs can win the World Series

By FanSided Staff

Apr 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro (13) is congratulated for hitting a walk off single by first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) during the eleventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. Chicago won 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro (13) is congratulated for hitting a walk off single by first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) during the eleventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. Chicago won 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 3, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Pitching staff is equipped to make late season run

The Chicago Cubs have done an excellent job of building a pitching staff around one of the best pitchers in the game in Jon Lester. Following the ace are Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks, and Travis Wood in the rotation. Then when you add Jason Motte and Pedro Strop in the middle innings, and then finally bringing in Hector Rondon for the save, what’s not to like about this pitching staff?

In the MLB, it’s all about staying at about .500 throughout the season until the middle of July. If you can stay healthy until then and your pitchers can produce quality starts for a month to a month and a half, you should be good to go for the playoffs.

The Cubs currently have the 12th best ERA with their combined staff in the MLB. With Jake Arrieta’s 2.84 ERA (33rd in the MLB) behind Lester as the ace, there is no reason to think this one-two punch won’t knock out consistent wins for the Cubs during the final stretch of the season.

The Cubs pitching staff is structured in a way that will make it successful late in the season. General manager Theo Epstein purposefully did this, and it could prove to help them make the playoffs in July and September.

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Next: 2. Young hitters are solid hitters

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