The 2020 Major League Baseball season proved that Chicago Cubs prospect Adbert Alzolay should be a mainstay in the starting rotation.
If there has been a knock on the development and consequent deconstruction of the Chicago Cubs farm system, it has been their inability to develop cost-controlled starting pitchers.
That would be the reason why the Cubs have been forced to sink money into free-agent starting pitching over the course of the past five years. It worked with Jon Lester and is beginning to pay off with Yu Darvish but Tyler Chatwood was a disappointment.
Lester, Chatwood, and Jose Quintana are all scheduled to be free agents this offseason. Prior to the start of the season, those three made three-fifths of the Cubs’ starting rotation. Injuries to Quintana and Chatwood, however, limited their appearances during the 2020 season.
The Chicago Cubs are going to need to address the starting rotation once again this season. At this point, Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks are the only known commodities in the projected 2021 starting rotation for the Cubs. Alec Mills could also factor into the Cubs’ rotation but he seems to be a better fit in the bullpen.
Chances are, given the limited amount of financial resources available to the Cubs, that the team will not be re-signing all three of Lester, Chatwood, and Quintana. There is an even stronger chance that one of those three starting pitchers will be replaced in the Cubs’ starting rotation by an internal option.
That internal option should be Adbert Alzolay.
Alzolay is one of the few pitching prospects that the Cubs have that has been talked about in high regard. During the 2020 season, Alzolay flashed potential to be an effective starter for the Cubs in the rotation.
Alzolay appeared in 6 games (4 starts; 21.1 innings pitched) for the Cubs during the 2020 season while posting an ERA of 2.95, 3.05 FIP, and 1.172 WHIP. Even more impressive is that Alzolay averaged 12.2 strikeouts per 9 innings during the 2020 season.
Alzolay, albeit in a small sample size, appeared to prove during the 2020 season that he is worthy of a spot in the Cubs’ starting rotation. Alzolay being ready for the Cubs’ starting rotation would be a huge relief for the front office this season.
To say that the Cubs’ front office will be penny-pinching this off-season would be an understatement. Between the shortened season, the loss of revenue by not having fans in Wrigley Field, the loss of revenue from not having a full season of games airing on Marquee; it’s likely that Tom Ricketts will not be flushing the front office with cash to spend this offseason. With the Cubs having a dramatic need for improving the offense, it stands to reason that a majority of the resources available should be spent in that direction. Meaning, the Cubs may not have the resources to truly address the starting rotation needs with an external option.
