Evaluating pitchers can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for and if your criteria differs among pitchers. Today most people would scoff at looking at wins for staring pitchers or even ERA or home runs allowed.

One can pick among many different things and pick and choose what best suits your case. Justin Steele of the Cubs has positioned himself among the favorites in the NL CY Young race. Aside from poise or confidence in particular pitches, it’s easy to see that he has matured this season and the Cubs are the beneficiaries.

Heading into today’s matinee with the Royals, the stat that jumped out at me was the number of pitches he’s thrown per inning. In 24 starts covering 119 innings, he threw 2032 pitches. In 2023, he’s made 23 starts in 131 innings and has thrown only 1999 pitches. He’s more efficient and it’s translated to a lower ERA (3.18-2.75). It’s also translated to a 13-4 record and All-Star selection.

Ultimately, if a starting pitcher can go deeper into games because he’s getting batters out in fewer pitchers, he’s going to put less pressure on the bullpen.