Kyle Hendricks Becoming Increasingly Kyle Hendricks, Butler’s Style, and Other Bullets

May 18, 2017

Based on how hard he hits boxes and the wall with his plastic bat in an imaginary battle against the “bad bears,” I expect that The Little Boy is going to have surprising pop at the plate, despite his size limitations.

We saw the good results last night for Kyle Hendricks on a night with the wind howling out, but the under-the-hood stuff looks good, too. His velocity was back to being more where you’d expect (sitting 87 mph with his sinker and his four-seam, topping out near 89 mph), the Reds could do nothing with his changeup, and he got 15 whiffs on the night. Even his two walks featured pitches that were close enough to go either way. Perhaps best of all, Hendricks got nine groundouts, which is obviously exactly what you want to see on a night like last night.

After three rough starts to begin the season, Kyle Hendricks has posted a 1.82/3.44/3.87 ERA/FIP/xFIP line in the five starts that followed. The walk rate has still been high for him (9.2%), but the strikeout rate is just about league average (21.0%) and the groundball rate is solid (50.0%). Expecting a repeat of last year was always crazy, but expecting a very good pitcher? Not at all crazy – it’s easy to forget that Hendricks was very good in 2015, even before he was dominant in 2016.

Hendricks also pulled off a two-strike safety squeeze to score a run – an excellent call when the pitcher-batter probably isn’t going to do much anyway – and the Cubs’ Twitter account had a little fun with Hendricks’ typically placid demeanor:

.@kylehendricks28 bunts home a run to make it 6-2 in the 3rd!

He is very excited, as you can see. pic.twitter.com/iVqug37zZL

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 18, 2017

A great read at The Athletic on Eddie Butler’s arrival with the Cubs, and, among other things, how they’ve encouraged him to pound the strike zone with all of his pitches and simply let batters try to do what they can. There’s a lot of risk in an approach like that, especially for a guy who doesn’t miss a lot of bats anyway, but with so much movement on his pitches, and five different pitches he can throw for strikes, perhaps Butler can keep batters off balance just enough to keep inducing weak contact.

If you missed it earlier, Jason Heyward is set to start a rehab assignment today, and the Cubs will soon have a roster decision to make (and, thereafter, if Ian Happ were to stick around, they’d have difficult lineup decisions to make almost every day).

It’s good to see the Reds:

#Cubs have scored at least 5 runs in 24 of their last 26 games against the Reds.

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) May 18, 2017

One bit of horrible news from Tuesday night’s game: a fan fell over a railing after the Cubs/Reds game, and then died yesterday (Cubs.com). You never imagine something like that is going to happen when you go to a baseball game. Thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Keith Law regularly endeavors to rank the top 25 players in baseball under the age of 25, and, in recent years, we’ve been used to seeing several Cubs on the list. The latest installment, however, has just one Cub: Addison Russell at number 10. Javy Baez was an honorable mention. Who else could have/should have been on the list? Well, Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora qualified for the list, but given their ongoing development, I can understand them not being on just yet. Willson Contreras just turned 25 last week, so he was not eligible.

Kyle Schwarber broke part of the Budweiser sign atop the right field video board yesterday, and he apologized with a smile (Tribune). He said it would be better if it were in a game. Plenty of opportunities going forward, Kyle.

Speaking of Schwarber, he’s kicking off a new initiative called “Neighborhood Heroes,” honoring first responders (Cubs.com).

A piece of Kris Bryant’s bat got stuck in the protective netting for a couple innings last night, and after unsuccessful attempts to shake and knock it loose, the Cubs had to go to extreme measures:

Who knew they had a ladder ready….#cubstalk @Cubs pic.twitter.com/lXgj2lBajM

— Chicago Sport Social (@ChiSportSocial) May 18, 2017

Why they didn’t leave it there forever like the Schwarber ball on the video board, I’ll never know. What, broken Kris Bryant bat in a random May game isn’t historic enough?

Earlier, we took a closer look at the replay that won the game for the Cubs last night.

Starlin Castro continues to crush it this year with the Yankees, and, well, good for him.

He looks so young! Sounds mostly the same, though:

1,000 MLB Wins ago—Joe Maddon's 1st full season managerial gig was w 1984 Peoria Chiefs—he sure sounds like 2017 Maddon @CubsJoeMadd pic.twitter.com/W4eu9K6NTQ
— Jim Mattson (@hoijim) May 17, 2017

Javy Baez is working with Toyota, and he’s debuting some acting skills:

I’m used to line drives, not line readings. Check out my acting debut with my partner Toyota. #ToyotaTime #Deals pic.twitter.com/gU2MsWOR00
— Javier Báez (@javy23baez) May 11, 2017

Heads up: a big sale on a Greg Maddux autographed baseball if you want one for the collection.

I don’t know this particular one myself, but this Amazon Deal of the Day seems like a great deal (76% off) on a well-reviewed portable bluetooth speaker.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

more cubs news

Chicago Cubs

Wake Up and Watch the Cubs Make Their Mothers Proud

There is something about seeing Cubs players homer with pink bats that makes me smile extra wide. I suppose it's PROBABLY at least a little because this is one of my favorite Cubs memories: https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1788291377333170611 Javy Báez, with the pink...

Brett Taylor

May 13, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 5, Pirates 4 – May 12, 2024

It's Mother's Day. I'm hanging with the family. I don't feel like being as pissed off as a game like that threatened to make me. So I am QUITE relieved by that 10th inning (and the fact that the Cubs...

Brett Taylor

May 12, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Christopher Morel Kicks Off Mother’s Day With Some Love

I'll just presume he was sending this one out for mom. And I'll also presume that the knee is indeed feeling good. Home run number nine on the season for Christopher Morel: https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1789713524052087082

Brett Taylor

May 12, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Pirates (12:35 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...

Michael Cerami

May 12, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Cubs Roster Move: Kyle Hendricks Activated to Start Today

No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...

Michael Cerami

May 12, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Horrible History, Morel’s Knee, Almonte’s Shoulder, Hoerner, Wesneski, Hendricks, Mervis, and Other Cubs Bullets

Happy Mother's Day to the mothers among you, and to the mothers in my life! I'll be doing some extra family stuff today, so I'm gonna cruise through these Bullets ... Up front, because this was certainly the thing most...

Brett Taylor

May 12, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Kyle Hendricks Will Start for the Big League Cubs Tomorrow

The Sunday TBD has been D'd, and it's going to be Kyle Hendricks coming back an outing early. Instead of making another rehab start at Iowa, Hendricks is going to be activated from the IL to rejoin the rotation tomorrow:...

Brett Taylor

May 11, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Enhanced Box Score: Pirates 10, Cubs 9 – May 11, 2024

The Cubs came within 90 feet of keeping that ridiculous game going. No dice. Stupid game. Early on, it just kinda seemed like the Cubs might lose a perfectly normal - bad, but normal - game. Justin Steele did not...

Brett Taylor

May 11, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Pirates (3:05 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

CUBS LINEUP — After a little tease yesterday, Seiya Suzuki is actually, officially in the Cubs lineup today. And he'll be greeted with a tough matchup against the top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball. Welcome back! Chicago Cubs Lineup:...

Michael Cerami

May 11, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Oh, Good, Yency Almonte is Now Also Hurt

Today the Chicago Cubs placed reliever Yency Almonte on the Injured List with a right shoulder strain. Jose Cuas has been recalled from Iowa to take his place in the bullpen. Almonte, together with Mark Leiter Jr., had been performing...

Brett Taylor

May 11, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Wake Up and Watch the Cubs Make Their Mothers Proud

Brett Taylor

May 13, 2024

Picks

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets for Western Conference Semifinals Game 5 – Tuesday, May 14, 2024

The Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves take the court in Game 5 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets are favored by 4.5 points in the contest, which airs on TNT at 10:30 PM ET. The...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Picks

Knicks vs. Pacers Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets for Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 – Tuesday, May 14, 2024

The New York Knicks are slight 2-point favorites heading into Game 5 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, beginning at 8:00 PM ET on TNT. The series is...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

NBA Picks

Mavericks vs. Thunder Predictions, Best Bets and Odds: Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 – Monday, May 13, 2024

The Dallas Mavericks are slight 1.5-point favorites heading into Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center on Monday, starting at 9:30 PM ET on TNT. The Mavericks hold...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Picks

NHL Playoffs Anytime Goalscorer Bets and Odds Today – May 13

Anytime goal-scorer odds are listed in this article, with two Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round games on the NHL calendar Monday.Watch the NHL on Fubo!Today's Top Anytime Goal OddsNathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) -115 to scoreAvalanche vs. StarsGame Time: 12:00 AM ET...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Picks

Oilers vs. Canucks NHL Playoffs Second Round Game 4 Prediction: Live Odds, Stats, History and Picks – Tuesday, May 14, 2024

The Edmonton Oilers welcome the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, and are -218 favorites on the moneyline, with the visiting team at +180.Watch the NHL on Fubo!Oilers vs. Canucks Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Oilers (-218)Underdog: Canucks (+180)Total: 6.5Best Oilers vs. Canucks Promo...

Data Skrive

May 13, 2024

Oakland Athletics 2024 Schedule and How to Watch their games

MLB

How to Watch Athletics Games: Full 2024 Schedule, Live Stream and More

It's a bittersweet season for the Oakland Athletics. As they prepare to begin their move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, the A's are looking to make their final year at the Coliseum one to remember. With a little...

Brian Twining

May 12, 2024

How to Watch

Angels vs. Cardinals: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

On Monday at 9:38 PM ET, Taylor Ward and the Los Angeles Angels (15-26) take on Brendan Donovan and the St. Louis Cardinals (16-24) at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.If you're intending to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and...

Data Skrive

May 12, 2024

How to Watch

Mariners vs. Royals: Start Time, Streaming Live, TV Channel, How to Watch

The Seattle Mariners (22-19), led by Josh Rojas, host Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals (25-17) on Monday at 9:40 PM ET.Keep reading to see how to watch the Seattle-Kansas City matchup in the article below.When is Mariners...

Data Skrive

May 12, 2024

How to Watch

How to Watch Diamondbacks vs. Reds: Live Stream or on TV

Jordan Montgomery will take the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks (19-22) when they host starter Graham Ashcraft and the Cincinnati Reds (17-23) in a series opener on Monday, with first pitch at 9:40 PM ET.Keep reading to find out all...

Data Skrive

May 12, 2024

Kyle Hendricks Becoming Increasingly Kyle Hendricks, Butler’s Style, and Other Bullets

Read More

more cubs news

Latest News

more cubs news

Most Popular

Most Popular

Latest News

Most Popular

Most Popular