Inside the numbers behind the Chicago Cubs' torrid start

The Chicago Cubs are scorching the earth in the National League Central so far.

They'll bring a 14-5 record into the upcoming homestand, which begins Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs are one-half game behind the equally impressive Washington Nationals, managed by Dusty Baker, for the best record in major-league baseball.

Here are some of the numbers that stand out for the Cubs over the first three weeks of the season:

Run differential:

The Cubs have outscored their opponents 119-51 for a run differential of plus 68.

That's far and away the best in the National League. Put another way, it almost equals the run differentials of the next two teams combined. The St. Louis Cardinals have a plus-40 run differential, and the Nationals are at plus-34 for a combined 74.

The Cubs won the first game of the season 9-0 over the Angels. From there they ran up scores of 14-6, 16-0, 13-5 and 9-0 again.

Starting pitching:

Where do you even begin here?

Cubs starting pitchers lead the major leagues with an ERA of 2.36. The Nationals are next at 2.38.

The starters for the Cubs have logged 125⅔ innings, also the best in baseball. The flip side of that is that the Cubs bullpen has the fewest innings pitched in the majors (43).

It's all manager Joe Maddon can do to find work for the likes of closer Hector Rondon, who got an inning of mop-up work Sunday in the 9-0 rout of the Reds. The appearance for Rondon was only his fifth of the season.

The big upside for the Cubs is that this early work by the starters should keep the bullpen fresh when the weather heats up.

The Cubs staff also leads the NL in quality starts with 16. In those starts, the Cubs are 13-3, and the starters have an ERA of 1.41 in quality starts.

Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Jason Hammel each has 4 quality starts in 4 appearances, while John Lackey and Kyle Hendricks have 2 apiece.

Last year's Cubs team, which won 97 games, did not get its 16th quality start until May 12.

All-star quality:

Silly as it seems, Major League Baseball is off and running with voting for the July 12 All-Star Game at San Diego. It's all about the marketing.

The entire Cubs starting infield is on the ballot as is catcher Miguel Montero and outfielders Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Jorge Soler.

The 2008 Cubs had an NL-record eight players named to the All-Star Game: Geovany Soto, Kosuke Fukudome, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Kerry Wood.

This year's club might not put eight on the midsummer roster, but it could come close. Ace Jake Arrieta could be the favorite to start the All-Star Game, with Lester and Hammel on their way to putting themselves in the picture for selection.

Anthony Rizzo, who has 8 homers already, could earn his third straight appearance, and if he keeps up his pace, he could start. Third baseman Kris Bryant made the team as a rookie, and the voters no doubt will like him.

Center fielder Dexter Fowler is off to a great start, and Jason Heyward has heated up, and he has big-time name recognition.

Cubs fans are likely to vote early and vote often, so plan to see a lot of blue in San Diego come mid-July.

Scouting report

Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Thursday; WGN Wednesday

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (1-2) vs. Jimmy Nelson (3-1) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; Jake Arrieta (4-0) vs. Taylor Jungmann (0-3) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.; Jon Lester (2-1) vs. Zach Davies (0-2) Thursday at 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs continue to face bottom feeders of the NL Central. After dispatching the Reds three of four in Cincinnati, the first-place Cubs (14-5) welcome the last-place Brewers (8-11) to Wrigley Field. Ryan Braun continues to be an offensive force for Milwaukee, with a line of .364/.432/.636 with 5 homers and 15 RBI. Chris Carter also has 5 home runs and 15 RBI. Jeremy Jeffress has 6 saves for the Brewers, who entered Monday 15th in the NL in ERA (5.65). The Cubs were second in ERA (2.51). The final two games of this series look to be a pair of pitching mismatches. Arrieta has an ERA of 0.87 while Jungmann is at 8.47. Lester's ERA is 1.98, while Davies checks in at 9.72. The Cubs' Dexter Fowler has an on-base percentage of .506 and a batting average of .385. He also has scored 17 runs.

Next: Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday

— Bruce Miles