Marcus Stroman just got perfect bulletin board material to continue hot start
By Josh Wilson
Marcus Stroman just got all the motivation he needs to continue proving himself after a very hot start with the Chicago Cubs.
Marcus Stroman is off to one heck of a start with the Chicago Cubs. Through four starts, Stroman is 2-1 and has given up just 2 runs in 24 innings of play. He has the third-best ERA behind Shohei Ohtani and Luis Castillo.
Stroman’s pitching arsenal and the way he gets batters out don’t fit the archetype of a typical starting pitcher, which makes him all the more exciting. But that, in part, has some analysts leaving him out of rankings early, something he can definitely use to motivate himself if he so chooses.
MLB.com released its first starting pitcher power rankings of the year. Stroman made it on the list as an honorable mention (for what it’s worth, the first honorable mention), but did not crack the top-10 leaderboard.
While it’s up for debate whether or not Stro deserves a spot in that top 10, he can certainly use it to inspire his play moving forward either way.
Marcus Stroman has all the motivation he needs
Clearly, Marcus Stroman is motivated as ever. His first start came and gave him an opportunity to spoil a famed bettor’s day. Since then, he’s put together quality start after quality start, with each of his appearances so far counting as a “quality” one (Justin Steele has four such starts as well).
The list of players who have four quality starts includes Shohei Ohtani, Gerrit Cole, and Shane Bieber. Not bad company.
Stroman is also one of just three pitchers to throw 300 or more pitches without allowing a single barreled ball yet this year.
Notably, the expected batting average on almost all his pitches is higher than the actual batting average, which could be indicative of some luck. But to Stroman, that can just serve as more doubts to prove wrong.
Stroman’s next start should be Sunday afternoon against the Dodgers, who will be rolling out Clayton Kershaw. Not one that Cubs fans should miss.
Next. 1 trade every MLB team would like to have back. dark