Chicago Cubs' rotation relies on its 'big three'

Teams facing the Chicago Cubs this season know they'll be going up against these starting pitchers:

• The major-league ERA champion from 2016, a pitcher who finished third in the Cy Young balloting.

• A 19-game winner from last year and runner-up in the Cy Young voting, a pitcher who went 2-0 in the 2016 World Series and who has three world championships to his credit.

• The 2015 Cy Young Award winner, a pitcher with 40 victories over the past two season.

Those three pitchers, respectively, are Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, and they form as formidable a "big three" as any in the game.

When the 2017 regular season opens April 2 in St. Louis, the order of those pitchers facing the Cardinals is likely to be Lester, Arrieta and Hendricks.

But wait, there's more. Following those three in the Chicago rotation are the ever-irascible John Lackey and a choice between left-handers Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson.

So the Cubs have six pitchers for five spots, but manager Joe Maddon likes to insert a sixth starter during busy parts of the season. So look for both Montgomery and Anderson to get starts, though the six-man probably won't go into effect right away.

The Cubs chose not to bring back starter Jason Hammel (15-10, 3.83 ERA last year) for 2017, but they return the bulk of a starting staff that went 81-39 with a major-league-leading 2.96 ERA.

"I like seeing our guys and how competitive we are and how we're able to let them hit it, and our defense is so good," said Lester, who regained the title of staff ace last year by going 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA and finishing second in Cy Young voting to Washington's Max Scherzer.

Arrieta was the ace in 2015, with ridiculous numbers of 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, earning him the Cy Young.

Over the past two seasons, Arrieta is 40-14 with a 2.39 ERA. Wins by pitchers aren't looked at the way they used to be, but 40 is an impressive number, and Arrieta takes some pride in that figure.

"I do, for sure," he said. "You've also got to have great teammates, a good defense, a good offense, which I've been really fortunate to have, and that's why we've won so many games since I've been a Cub. Yeah, you take a little pride in winning games for your team, but at the end of the day, having a lineup like I've got, if you can keep yourself in the game past 5 innings, you're going to win some ballgames here."

The most interesting pitcher to watch might be Hendricks, who set career highs in wins (16), innings (190) and strikeouts (170) in his second full big-league season. He also started Game 7 of the World Series.

At 27, Hendricks is still learning his craft, but his cerebral approach to the game seems to be a positive. Veteran Lester weighed in on his young teammate.

"You're going to have years like last year like Kyle, where he wins so many games and he has a 2.10," Lester said. "And you're going to have years where you're going to get your butt kicked. You're kind of doing the same stuff and you don't know why. You just to maintain that. That's what's worked for me, that 200 innings, 32-34 starts and at the end of the year, you look up and you're right there.

"He makes really good in-game adjustments, and I see the sky's the limit. Is he going to have the 2.10 (ERA)? Who knows? We have a really good defense, and I know that saved a lot of runs for us (last) year.

"The big thing, I'd like to see him get 200 innings. I'd like to see him get up to that number. I'd like, obviously, to see all our guys make every start and try to do that whole group thing again."

Montgomery got the save in Game 7 of the World Series in November. He came to the Cubs from Seattle in a July trade, and he was one of the top under-the-radar acquisitions of the year.

Anderson is trying to put together a full season after battling injuries during parts of his career. The Cubs signed him as a free agent after he appeared in four games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, when his season was cut short by back problems.