KyleHendricks

News: 4 days agoHendricks threw three scoreless innings during an intrasquad game Saturday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Spin: Hendricks faced off against Yu Darvish, as the two are expected to headline the Cubs' staff this year, likely with Darvish getting the nod on Opening Day. Hendricks reportedly looked sharp in spring camp before play was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, and he figures to be a strong fantasy play in 2020 after posting a 3.46 ERA across 177 innings last season.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Hendricks is a fascinating pitcher to watch, given what he is not. The spin rate on his fastball ranks in the bottom fifth percentile and he has the worst fastball velocity of all qualified starting pitchers. Yet he does a phenomenal job of limiting hard contact and has an above-average strikeout rate for a starting pitcher. He uses an old-school approach of pounding all levels of the strike zone while keeping hitters off balance by changing eye level as often as he changes speeds. He has been able maintain his effectiveness even while the baseball he uses has gone through changes, and he has missed fewer than 10 starts over the past five seasons. There is not a ceiling and a floor with Hendricks; rather, he just has a flat surface of amazing consistency. You know exactly what you're getting with him; nothing more, nothing less.