Cubs Quick Hits: Despite Sinker Command Issues, Hendricks Still Shows Encouraging Signs

First off, let me emphasize just how fortunate we are to have Kyle Hendricks in a Cubs uniform. I’m more than confident that things will click for him in the not-so-distant future. I’d only be worried if his velocity was down, release points were abnormal, and movement was reduced. Fortunately, none of that is going on for him this season

The problem is that Hendricks’ command, particularly on his sinker, has been off recently. You can see that he was painting the left portion of the zone throughout his best season in 2016 (first picture below). This month, though, look at how that red blob has inched over towards the center of the zone (second picture below).

Encouragingly, his changeup command has still been pretty darn good this June. See how he’s burying the offspeed pitch in the lower part of the zone (below)? Yeah, it’s only a matter of time until The Professor starts feeling it and his command returns.