Craig Counsell watched Justin Steele pitch from afar the past few seasons as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.
And he says he knows what makes Steele so special.
Now, Counsell is the manager of the Chicago Cubs he’s getting a closer look at the pitcher who finished in fifth place in Cy Young voting last season, as he was listed on 17 of the 30 ballots and got one second-place vote.
San Diego’s Blake Snell won the award, getting 28 of the 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
But Steele enters 2024 season as the Cubs’ ace after what he did last season. He led the Cubs in victories, going 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA. He struck out a career-high 176 in 173.1 innings. He only walked 36. He pitched well enough in the first half to earn a selection to the National League All-Star Team and led the NL in home runs allowed per nine innings with 0.7.
It was a breakthrough season for Steele, who earned a $1 million bonus for finishing in the top five of Cy Young voting and agreed to a $4 million deal with the Cubs for 2024 to avoid arbitration in his first season of eligibility.
Counsell believes he knows the reason why Steele made his breakthrough last season and why he’s the right pitcher to be the team’s ace this season.
Nothing ever comes out of Steele’s left hand quite the same way.
“He throws a baseball in a way that just does a little something different each time, and that is hard for hitters,” Counsell said to MLB.com. “Every year is a little different … and [he’ll need to] be able to adjust and adapt to that and be able to adjust to a league trying to make adjustments to him.”
Steele enters the season with a career record of 24-16 with a 3.30 ERA with 361 strikeouts and 113 walks.
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