30-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Feldman has been solid so far this year.  I thought the Cubs were a little nuts when they signed Feldman to a 1-year, $6 million dollar deal last winter.  After all, Feldman pitched in 29 games (21 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  But, he has looked good so far in 2013.  Feldman has pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  Feldman has only given 27 hits and 14 walks while whiffing 27 batters in his first 36 2/3 innings this year, which is impressive.  Here’s to hoping that Scott Feldman keeps up the good work for the Cubbies in 2013.

27-year old lefty reliever James Russell has been downright nasty so far in 2013 for the Cubbies.  He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP.  He has only given up 7 hits and walked 2 batters while whiffing 15 of them in his first 12 1/3 innings pitched, which is very, very impressive.  Russell has now pitched in 93 games (0 starts) in his last two years with the Cubs and he is 7-1 with 2 saves, a 2.76 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  Russell has turned into a very reliable late inning reliever for the Cubs and they hope that it continues.

The Cubs signed 34-year old righty reliever Kevin Gregg to a minor league deal after the 2013 season started.  The Cubs then used a host of pitchers as the closer and they all failed.  So, the Cubs called up Gregg and gave him a shot to save some games and he appears to be the new closer.  Gregg has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 0-0 with 3 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  He has given up 3 hits and he has walked 2 batters while whiffing 4 batters in his first 4 innings pitched this year.  The Cubs hope that Gregg is better this time around for the Cubs.  He pitched for them in 2009, working in 72 games (0 starts) in which he was 5-6 with 23 saves, a 4.72 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

26-year old lefty starting pitcher Travis Wood is off to a good start for the Cubs in 2013.  He has started 3 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  He has allowed only 13 hits and 8 walks while whiffing 13 batters in his first 19 2/3 innings for the Cubbies this year.  Wood didn’t pitch that great in 2012 for the Cubs (his first year with the team) as he started 26 games and was 6-13 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  But, you could tell that he had big time potential last year and he has cashed it on it so far in 2013.  The Cubs hope that he keeps up the good work.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva wanted to sign with a team over the winter that would give him a chance to start.  He found one in the Cubs and he has looked good so far this year.  Villanueva has pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.64 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.  He has only given up 9 hits and 3 walks while whiffing 9 batters in 14 innings so far this year, which is pretty impressive.  Villanueva has now started 58 games in his major league career and he is 16-22 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.  But, out of the bullpen, he has worked in 245 games in which he is 17-13 with 6 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  Only time will tell if Villanueva can keep up the good work as a starting pitcher, but the Cubs will give him the chance he wanted over the winter.

Last season, 28-year old righty Jeff Samardzija took his first shot at the starting rotation and he had a decent year.  He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 9-13 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He is looking to build on that success in 2013.  He has pitched in 2 games (both starts) so far this year for the Cubs and he is 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP.  Samardzija has only given up 6 hits, walked 5 batters and he has whiffed an amazingly impressive 22 batters in his first 13 2/3 innings so far in 2013.  Samardzija has the stuff to be a true #1 starter as long as he keeps focused and throwing strikes.

29-year old righty closer Carlos Marmol has gotten his act back together lately. Since July 1st, Marmol has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in which he is 1-1 with 12 saves, a 2.66 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He has now pitched in 52 games (0 starts) overall this year and he is 2-3 with 19 saves, a 3.88 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Marmol has given up 37 hits and he has walked 40 batters while whiffing 59 of them in only 46 1/3 innings, which are the kind of numbers to expect out of him….as he is unhittable and wild as hell.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija has been pitching like an ace lately for the Cubs. Since July 1st, Samardzija has pitched in 12 games (all starts) in which he is 3-6 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has now pitched in 27 games (all starts) overall this year for the Cubs and he is 8-13 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has given up 153 hits and 55 walks in 165 2/3 innings so far this year while whiffing 171 batters, which is impressive. Samardzija would have a winning record right now if he were on a better team. He has adjusted well to his new role after working out of the pen early in his career with the Cubs.

30-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm has really been hot so far in July for the Chicago Cubs.  He has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Cubs so far in July and he is 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP.  He has only given up 25 hits and 4 walks in 30 innings pitched so far this month while whiffing 21 batters, which is pretty darn impressive.  Maholm has now pitched in 20 games (19 starts) so far this year for the Cubs and he is 9-6 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.  The Cubs are likely going to get something pretty good for Maholm if they deal him in the next week (which is likely).

36-year old righty reliever Shawn Camp has been outstanding this year for the Cubs. Camp has pitched in a major league leading 47 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 2-4 with 1 save, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has given up 42 hits while walking 11 batters and whiffing 36 of them in his first 48 1/3 innings pitched. Camp is pitching the best baseball of his major league career in 2012. He has now pitched in 479 games (0 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 27-30 with 11 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.