Two starts do not a season make, but Kyle Hendricks has not yet shown the ability to navigate his way out of the labyrinthine First Inning of Death into which he fell last season. One could argue that it’s been an issue since he debuted, as the numbers were ugly early, but he was fine in 2015 and 2016. Even a 4.88 opening-frame ERA in 2017 wasn’t awful.
Since the start of 2018, however, Hendricks has faced 156 batters in 35 innings (4.46 batters/IP) and has allowed 27 earned runs (6.94 ERA) on 43 hits. Opponents have slashed .