Much has been made of the Cubs’ lack of homegrown pitching options, a story that really germinated in 2016 grew too large to ignore in 2018. By my count, the Cubs got a mere 26 innings from pitchers they’d drafted and developed (Dillon Maples, Duane Underwood Jr., Rob Zastryzny, and James Norwood) last season. That brings them to a total of just 56 innings, a decidedly unacceptable number ($), since the Theo Epstein regime took hold.
Looking toward next season, there does appear to be a little help on the way in the form of Justin Steele, Dakota Mekkes, and Thomas Hatch.