By the time the city of Chicago dismantles all of the Nascar equipment mucking up the streets, a half dozen starters may have cancelled out on playing in Seattle. Right now I’m going to propose two starting pitchers on a .500 Cubs team should make the NL pitching staff.

I know that Cub fans and the local media have been promoting newcomer, Dansby Swanson has merited a spot on the AS roster. While he’s been a great asset, his numbers are no longer eye-popping and the team hasn’t played that well.

The guy that deserves a spot as a reserve is my (current) favorite player, Nico Hoerner. He’s proven even more valuable and versatile to the team’s success. He leads the team in runs scored (45), runs driven in (42), stolen bases (18). He also tops all position players in hits-88, triples-3 and batting average-.290. He’s filled in at short for Swanson and has played excellent second base.

However, the cases for Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele may be stronger, if manager Rob Thomson is willing to have a few starters on the staff. The first thing most fans see is victories, which don’t always tell the story. In the case of Steele and Stroman, wins do matter. Their combined 18 wins account for almost half of the Cubs 38. Both have been incredibly dominant this season.

Of Stroman’s 17 starts, 14 have been quality starts. and of Steele’s 15, 10 were quality starts. Each has flirted with no-hitters on more than one occasion. Neither pitcher has 100mph stuff, yet both are among the league leaders in WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched) Stroman-1.08 and Steele-1.03.

Aside from their 9 wins apiece, they also rank at the top of the league in other categories. Steele leads all qualified pitchers with a 2.43 ERA and Stroman’s 2.47 is third. Batters are hitting a league 5th worst-.203 against Stroman and 15th worst .221 off Steele.

I can make the case for several pitchers in the league, but as a Cub fan, it’s not my job. However, I’m in support of guys having first time success making the team regardless of their name or likelihood of future success.

The Cubs would not be where they are today without the these players.