2022 Stats
W-L
4-7
ERA
3.18
WHIP
1.35
K
126
SV
0
2023 Projections
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Steele took a big step forward in 2022 and could be emerging as a staple of Chicago's rotation in the coming years. The lefty made 24 starts and posted a 3.18 ERA and 126 strikeouts across 119 innings. That ERA was supported by a 3.20 FIP, so Steele's production seems sustainable. His last appearance came in late August, however, as a back issue flared up and the Cubs decided not to push him when they had little to play for. That will probably benefit Steele heading into 2023, as he should be healthy to begin the season. Marcus Stroman should continue to lead the rotation followed by Hendricks, though the latter is dealing with a shoulder injury over the offseason. That leaves Steele as the No. 3 starter with the potential to move up. As a southpaw who can miss bats, Steele could be in store for a nice fantasy season, particularly if he can build on his career-best workload from 2022. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#300
ADP
Not expected to return this season
Manager David Ross said Wednesday that Steele (back) isn't expected to be reinstated from the injured list prior to the end of the regular season, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
Steele threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday and is expected to throw another high-intensity session soon. While the left-hander might have been in the mix for a late-season return if the Cubs were in playoff contention, the team will elect not to rush him back for a short appearance prior to the end of the regular season. Steele had a career-best season in 2022, posting a 3.18 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 119 innings over 24 starts, and he should be able to have a fairly normal offseason program now that he's ramping up his workload.
Steele threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday and is expected to throw another high-intensity session soon. While the left-hander might have been in the mix for a late-season return if the Cubs were in playoff contention, the team will elect not to rush him back for a short appearance prior to the end of the regular season. Steele had a career-best season in 2022, posting a 3.18 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 119 innings over 24 starts, and he should be able to have a fairly normal offseason program now that he's ramping up his workload.
Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2022 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
85
Last 10 Games
91
Last 5 Games
92
How many pitches does Justin Steele generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Justin Steele generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-24%
BAA vs LHP
2022
-6%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2020vs Left | .193 | 52 | 24 | 27 | 2 | |||
| Since 2020vs Right | .253 | 133 | 53 | 134 | 18 | |||
| 2022vs Left | .232 | 34 | 14 | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2022vs Right | .248 | 92 | 36 | 88 | 7 | |||
| 2021vs Left | .098 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2021vs Right | .264 | 41 | 17 | 46 | 11 | |||
| 2020vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2020vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-13%
ERA on Road
2022
-26%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2020Home | 3.74 | 1.32 | 101.0 | 8.6 | 3.6 | ||||
| Since 2020Away | 3.24 | 1.40 | 75.0 | 10.6 | 4.4 | ||||
| 2022Home | 2.78 | 1.26 | 71.1 | 8.8 | 3.5 | ||||
| 2022Away | 3.78 | 1.49 | 47.2 | 10.6 | 4.2 | ||||
| 2021Home | 6.07 | 1.45 | 29.2 | 8.2 | 3.6 | ||||
| 2021Away | 2.30 | 1.24 | 27.1 | 10.5 | 4.9 | ||||
| 2020Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Justin Steele compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.52K/9
9.5BB/9
3.8HR/9
0.6Fastball
92.2 mphERA
3.18WHIP
1.35BABIP
.330GB/FB
1.99Left On Base
72.1%Exit Velocity
79.6 mphBarrels/BBE
2.4%Spin Rate
2534 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
18.7%Swinging Strike
10.3%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Justin Steele See More
Jason Collette advocates for more experimentation with scoring setups in order to give fantasy relevance to a larger pool of pitchers.
Jan Levine details a few NLers riding late-season surges, including a starter in Philly who's making the most of his opportunities.
Jason Shebilske's weekly waiver column is headlined by Jose Suarez, who's pitched quite well since the All-Star break.
Todd Zola ranks this week's starting pitchers, with Aaron Nola taking the top spot thanks to a pair of easy divisional matchups.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2016
Steele and Brad Wieck are projected as the lefties in the Cubs' bullpen, and the former finally made his major-league debut in 2021 with some bumps and bruises. The 23.8 K% was promising for a rookie, but the 10.9 BB% along with a 1.9 HR/9 offset the gains from his strikeouts. He somehow managed a respectable ERA given the recipe for disaster with the walks and allowing a homer for every four flyballs allowed. Steele can work as a swingman as he has the repertoire of a starting pitcher and worked almost exclusively as a starter throughout his minor-league career. What he lacks in velocity he makes up for with movement, and should he find better command as a sophomore, he could take a step forward and gain relevance in NL-only formats.
More Fantasy News
Throwing bullpen Saturday
Steele (back) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Starts up throwing program
Steele (back) threw a bullpen session Monday without issue, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Moved to IL
The Cubs placed Steele (back) on the 15-day injured list Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Needs more time for back to heal
Steele (back) won't make a start during the Cubs' three-game home series with the Reds that begins Tuesday, Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Comes off restricted list
The Cubs reinstated Steele (back) from the restricted list Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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