Justin Steele
29-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
5-5
ERA
3.07
WHIP
1.10
K
135
SV
0
2025 Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Steele had a breakout season in 2023 but somewhat of a breakdown 2024 season when you look at him from a medical angle. The hamstring strain he incurred in his first start of the season led to him missing a month, but then left forearm soreness in late August was a scare, especially for someone who has already had Tommy John surgery. Thankfully Steele made it back to throw two more games before the season ended so some of the mystery around the injury is resolved. Steele continues to employ a very unusual repertoire for a starter as he throuws his four seamer or his slider nearly 90% of the time. Lefties continued to have little success against him while righties are still mostly kept at bay because Steele does not hurt himself with walks and the usage of the changeup and curve at least keep righties guessing. That combination also helps him become one of the better hard contact suppessors in the league. Nearly every indicator points in the right direction, but the health scare of September is a fresh reminder of his downside for 2025. Read Past Outlooks
Goes four innings against Phillies
Steele didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Phillies, allowing two runs on four hits over four innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk.
ANALYSIS
Steele only threw 62 pitches Tuesday as he continues to work his way back from a three-week absence due to elbow tendinitis. The left-hander will likely wrap up an injury-hampered campaign with a 3.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 135:37 K:BB across 134.2 innings.
Steele only threw 62 pitches Tuesday as he continues to work his way back from a three-week absence due to elbow tendinitis. The left-hander will likely wrap up an injury-hampered campaign with a 3.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 135:37 K:BB across 134.2 innings.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
85
Last 10 Games
83
Last 5 Games
68
How many pitches does Justin Steele generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Justin Steele generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-3%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-17%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .233 | 108 | 29 | 76 | 9 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .241 | 329 | 94 | 313 | 25 | |||
2024vs Left | .188 | 32 | 7 | 18 | 2 | |||
2024vs Right | .227 | 103 | 30 | 93 | 10 | |||
2023vs Left | .267 | 42 | 8 | 35 | 6 | |||
2023vs Right | .247 | 134 | 28 | 132 | 8 | |||
2022vs Left | .232 | 34 | 14 | 23 | 1 | |||
2022vs Right | .248 | 92 | 36 | 88 | 7 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-16%
ERA at Home
2024
-13%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 2.86 | 1.20 | 239.0 | 9.0 | 2.7 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 3.40 | 1.20 | 188.0 | 9.5 | 2.5 | ||||
2024Home | 3.29 | 1.14 | 65.2 | 8.8 | 3.0 | ||||
2024Away | 2.87 | 1.06 | 69.0 | 9.3 | 2.0 | ||||
2023Home | 2.65 | 1.19 | 102.0 | 9.3 | 1.9 | ||||
2023Away | 3.66 | 1.15 | 71.1 | 9.0 | 1.9 | ||||
2022Home | 2.78 | 1.26 | 71.1 | 8.8 | 3.5 | ||||
2022Away | 3.78 | 1.49 | 47.2 | 10.6 | 4.2 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Justin Steele compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.65K/9
9.0BB/9
2.5HR/9
0.8Fastball
91.6 mphERA
3.07WHIP
1.10BABIP
.288GB/FB
1.33Left On Base
71.6%Exit Velocity
80.8 mphBarrels/BBE
2.8%Spin Rate
2485 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
21.5%Swinging Strike
10.9%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2016
There was a lot to like with Steele coming into the 2023 season as a pitcher who kept the ball in the yard, threw a lot of strikes and generated a fair number of whiffs. Our 2023 outlook even said he could be in store for a nice fantasy season, but who saw him doubling his career win total and continuing the positive peripheral growth for a third consecutive season? If not for Blake Snell's amazing run or all of Spencer Strider's strikeouts and wins, Steele could have garnered more supporters for a Cy Young argument with the season he had. So what if he does not have the velocity of other pitchers when he can match results with the best of them? The amazing part is he does this using two pitches 97% of the time, which does leave him exposed to the third-time-through penalty. He may never be a 200-inning arm, but Steele is a pitcher on the rise approaching frontline status.
More Fantasy News
Limited workload in return
Steele came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Athletics, allowing two hits and three walks over 2.2 scoreless innings. He struck out one.
ANALYSIS
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Activated ahead of start
The Cubs activated Steele (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Rejoining rotation Wednesday
Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced Tuesday that Steele (elbow) will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday against the Athletics, Ryan Herrera of AllCHGO.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Could return from IL soon
Steele (elbow) told reporters after his bullpen session Saturday that he expects to be activated off the 15-day injured list during the Cubs' upcoming homestand, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Throws off mound
Steele (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Earning 2022 rotation spot?
Steele pitched seven scoreless innings in a win Thursday and could be solidifying his spot in next season's rotation.
ANALYSIS
The Cubs have plenty of question marks behind ace Kyle Hendricks, and Steele has flashed some potential, though he's also had his share of rough outings. The lefty at least should have a chance at earning a rotation spot heading into next season depending on what the team does in free agency.
The Cubs have plenty of question marks behind ace Kyle Hendricks, and Steele has flashed some potential, though he's also had his share of rough outings. The lefty at least should have a chance at earning a rotation spot heading into next season depending on what the team does in free agency.