Marcus Stroman was signed by the Chicago Cubs to a three-year, 71 Million deal prior to this season and is having somewhat of an inconsistent season with a lot of ups and downs, including a shoulder injury that prevented him from playing for more than a month.
Following a period of recovery training with the Iowa Cubs, Stroman returned to help the Chicago Cubs and is slowly trying to get back in shape. How did he do in his comeback?
The Stro Show is expected at Principal Park tomorrow night! Don’t miss out 👀 https://t.co/C398HJ9McB
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 2, 2022
Who is Marcus Stroman?
Marcus Stroman is a 31 years old starting pitcher from Medford, New York.
Stroman was drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals in the 18th round, and then got drafted in 2012 by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round.
Stroman has played 8 seasons in the MLB, being part of the Toronto Blue jays for 6 seasons, then played 2 seasons in New York for the New York Mets, and now is currently playing for the Chicago Cubs.
Marcus Stroman is known for being a strong supporter of the LGBT community. The player is also known for being one of the players that interact the most with the fans on social media, showing his irreverent personality and getting into several controversies.
LOVE is LOVE! #Pride2021 @Mets pic.twitter.com/RW9nj4hCjv
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 23, 2021
Marcus Stroman stats
During his 8 seasons in the MLB, the right-hand pitcher has played in almost 200 games and is averaging an ERA of 3.66.
Stroman’s best season was in 2017 when Stroman was playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. In that 2017 season, Stroman averaged an ERA of 3.09 in 201 Inning pitched in 33 games with a record of 13 wins and 9 losses.
In that 2017 season, Stroman ended in 8th in the American League Cy Young Award, an award that was won that year by the Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber. Stroman also won the American League Gold Glove Award.
In 2019, when Stroman played half of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays and ended up being traded to New York Mets, he was selected for the first time for an All-Star Game. He ended up not playing due to an injury.
So far this season, Stroman has played in 19 games for the Chicago Cubs and has an average ERA of 3.98 with 94 Hits allowed, 12 home runs and 52 runs allowed and has a record of 3 wins and 6 losses.
Stroman has already been injured 3 times this season, with an undisclosed injury, shoulder injury and a leg injury that left him out of the field for some time.
.@STR0 made this young fan's night. 🥺❤️
🎥: @TVFoxy | #NextLevelpic.twitter.com/sjS99pTRxD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 30, 2022
Comparison With Other Cubs Pitchers
We can compare Stroman’s season with 2 of the other Cubs starting pitchers in Drew Smyly and Justin Steele.
Smyly has played in 18 games and is averaging an ERA of 3.24 with 87 hits and 35 runs allowed and a record of 5 wins and 7 losses.
On the other hand, Justin Steele who is currently on the Injury list, has played in 24 games and is averaging an ERA of 3.18 with 111 hits and 53 runs allowed and a record of 4 wins and 7 losses.
Those stats do show that Stroman is clearly the better pitcher on the Chicago Cubs, even with the up-and-down season that he has been having.
In his last 5 starts Stroman faced twice the Washington Nationals, once the Brewers, once the Cardinals, and once his ex-team the Toronto Blue Jays.
In his first game against the Nationals pitched 5 innings, and allowed 5 hits and 4 runs, he also got 6 strikeouts.
Six days later he faced the Nationals and pitched only 4 innings, allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, and had 4 strikeouts.
Against the Brewers, Stroman pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and had 5 strikeouts.
Five days later he faced the Cardinals where he pitched 5 innings, allowing 11 hits and five runs with only 1 strikeout.
Once again five days later he played for the first time in Toronto against the Blue Jays and pitched 5 good innings allowing only 3 hits and 1 run, with also only 1 strikeout.
.@STR0 back in the city, so obviously mans had to reach🔥🔥 forever grateful for all the inspiration he’s given me over the years🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/iyahOuBfZQ
— El Z (@Vivir_Mi_Vida) August 31, 2022
How can Stroman bounce back?
To bounce back Stroman really needs to stay healthy and find himself in that Chicago Cubs team where he is really having a lot of ups and downs which can also be explained a bit because of the Cubs’ rebuilding year.
Next season the Cubs are planning to be more competitive, and a competitive team makes the pitcher’s task easier.
Read more about how Cubs should prepare next season here and what failed in the current one.
Welcome home, @STR0! Thanks for making our day! We’re rooting for you pitching tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/1NOrBLN37q
— James D. Fu (@JamesDFu) August 29, 2022
Credits for Featured Image: jenniferlinneaphotography from Denver, CO, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
