Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele delivers during the second inning of a spring training game against the Padres on Friday in Peoria, Ariz. (Charlie Riedel / AP, Charlie Riedel / AP)
Justin Steele trekked to the bullpen Friday night when his spring debut ended.
Steele looked sharp against the San Diego Padres after getting scratched from his first start last week because of arm fatigue. He pitched so efficiently in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-0 win he needed to throw more pitches in the bullpen to continue building up. Steele’s two-inning outing was so efficient, needing only 18 pitches, he went to the bullpen and threw about 25 more.
“If I can do that all year, I think we’ll be in a pretty good spot,” a smiling Steele said.
Steele’s performance was part of a combined no-hitter by seven Cubs pitchers. Joining Steele in the feat: Javiar Assad, Brad Boxberger, Adbert Alzolay, Jeremiah Estrada, Cam Sanders and Nick Burdi. According to the Cubs, it’s believed to be their first spring training no-hitter and the 43rd all time. It represents the first spring training no-hitter since March 24, 2017, when the Los Angeles Angels used eight pitchers to no-hit the Seattle Mariners.
Steele now knows what to expect over a full big-league season. The left-hander is coming off his first full season in the majors, shining amid another playoff-less year for the franchise. Steele moved to Arizona in the offseason and worked out at the Cubs complex, building up to the point where left arm fatigue that caused him to be scratched from his first spring start last week didn’t set him back in his preparation for the season.
The early payoff is apparent after relocating from Lucedale, Miss.
“It just made going about the offseason a lot easier for me and the training staff, the pitching staff because they were hands on the entire time I was doing all my workouts,” Steele said. “You get everybody on the same page being in Arizona.”
If the Cubs are going to contend for the postseason, they need Steele to take the next step forward in his development. He threw a career-high 119 innings over 24 starts in his second big-league season in 2022.
“It’s an evolution about being a big-leaguer,” manager David Ross said Friday. “You grow and you learn how to pitch, but when you have the stuff he has and can get hitters out in the zone with a two-pitch mix, there’s the value. Then you learn how to locate that better, you learn how to backdoor certain things, different sides of the plate, different quadrants within the strike zone and other pitches as they develop.
“That’s a long journey for guys and usually that when those two things peak, you’re usually in a really good spot.”
The Cubs have talked to Steele about incorporating his changeup more — he used the pitch only 37 times last season, accounting for only 1.8% of his pitches thrown — and turning it into a better weapon. His success, though, has been rooted in his four-seam fastball/slider combination, which Ross called “pretty darn valuable.”
“The league’s going to adjust,” Ross said. “This will be the first season where he’s building up for this type of journey and carrying us hopefully throughout the season and into the postseason. He’s one of those guys we’re going to rely heavily on and he put in the work in the offseason to be that guy.”
Steele didn’t throw any changeups Friday because of quickly and effectively he worked against the Padres, but he said the pitch is in a really good spot right now. He estimated seven to 10 of the 25 pitches he threw in his post-start bullpen were changeups. Steele relies on instant feedback to gauge whether his changeup is moving how he wants.
“I do a good job of watching the pitches after I throw them,” Steele said. “I’m not a big head-movement guy. So when I throw it and I feel it off my hand and I see the movement I want, that’s when I know it’s in a good spot. There was a moment last year when I pushed a changeup and it was way arm side and Yan (Gomes) was hitting me with the cancel, cancel, cancel (Pitch Com button), ‘Don’t throw a another changeup.’ But it’s in a really good spot right now.”
Dansby Swanson, who collected his first hit of the spring Friday, has gotten a glimpse of Steele the last two years while on the Atlanta Braves. He faced Steele four times before joining the Cubs, going 1-for-2 with two walks. Swanson is happy to now be on the same side as Steele. He compared Steele’s profile to Braves left-hander Max Fried’s, citing the action they get on their ball, particularly their fastball movement.
“It’s just really unique,” Swanson said. “That gives him a big advantage. He’s got some pitchability. He knows what he’s doing. … I’ve always thought he’s obviously got a lot of potential.”
The Cubs know what to expect from Marcus Stroman and Jameson Taillon from their respective track records. The belief that Steele has not yet fully harnessed his potential and his room to improve makes the 27-year-old one of the Cubs’ must-watch players, both for the in-season team success and where he can help take the organization in the coming years.
The Cubs’ ability and success in building another title team will get a boost if they develop pitchers, especially a starter like Steele.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service