Chicago Cubs Star Pitcher Receives Massive Bold Prediction for Next Season

A Chicago Cubs star pitcher could be inline for a huge 2025 season based on this bold prediction.

Aug 27, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele (35) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

There has been a lot of attention on the Chicago Cubs this offseason as they look to climb the ranks in the National League.

After winning 83 games for the second consecutive campaign, which was deemed a disappointment in an end-of-the-year-letter to the fans, they made a huge splash by acquiring star right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros.

He will provide a significant boost to their offense, which faltered at times in 2024.

If the lineup can get on track, the Cubs have a chance to make some real noise in the NL given how good their pitching staff is.

One of the players anchoring things on the mound is Justin Steele, who has been performing at an incredibly consistent level over the last two campaigns.

A breakout performance in 2022 when he recorded a 132 ERA+ and 3.18 ERA in 24 starts set the stage for a stellar 2023. He was named to his first All-Star game and ended the year 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA.

That was good enough for him to finish fifth in the Cy Young Award voting.

In 2024, his production was nearly similar to what he produced in 2023. The only downside was that he battled injuries, making only 24 starts and throwing 134.2 innings after tossing 173.1 the previous season.

There are legitimate durability concerns when it comes to Steele, who has already had Tommy John surgery once, battled a forearm issue in 2023, and suffered a hamstring that cost him a month last year.

But, if he can stay healthy, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com believes huge things are on the horizon for the talented lefty in 2025.

In a recent piece making some predictions for the BBWAA awards for the upcoming campaign, he has predicted that Steele will win the NL Cy Young Award.

“Given how effective he remained in 2024 when able to take the mound (130 ERA+, 3.07 ERA in 24 starts), Steele could get back in the Cy Young conversation with a healthy 2025. He’s not overpowering enough to wow people in the strikeout department, but he limits hard contact, and therefore runs, and if you believe as I do that the Cubs will have a resurgent season, then it would stand to reason that Steele would be a big part of it.”

He has already proven that he can perform at a high level as one of the best pitchers in the game in 2023.

Health is the only thing that is holding him back currently, so a full workload should result in some impressive production.

Not an overpowering pitcher, Steele’s advanced stats are all strong and the limiting of hard contact and fly balls results in plenty of positive results.