Justin Steele

Justin Steele
Chicago Cubs – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1995-07-11) July 11, 1995 (age 29)
Lucedale, Mississippi, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 12, 2021, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record29–21
Earned run average3.24
Strikeouts496
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Justin Carl Steele (born July 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021 and was an MLB All-Star in 2023.

Early life

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Justin Carl Steele was born July 11, 1995, in Lucedale, Mississippi,[1] and was raised in nearby Agricola by Ben Steele and Nicki Clark.[2][3] Steele and his older brother Jordan spent their childhood practicing baseball in their family backyard.[4] During his sophomore year at George County High School, while rehabilitating a lower back injury, Steele's fastball velocity increased to 90 mph (140 km/h), which attracted the attention of scouts and recruiters.[5] As a junior in 2013, Steele had a 7–3 win–loss record and 1.94 earned run average (ERA) with 98 strikeouts in 61+1⁄3 innings pitched. In addition to pitching, he spent time as an outfielder and designated hitter, batting .326 with three home runs and 23 runs batted in (RBI).[3] The next year, Steele went 5–1 with a 0.98 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 43 innings,[6] including two no-hitters.[7]

Professional career

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Draft and minor leagues

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The Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Steele in the fifth round, 139th overall, of the 2014 MLB Draft. At the time, he had committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi.[6] He ultimately joined the Cubs on a $1 million signing bonus.[5] He made his professional debut with the Rookie-level AZL Cubs, pitching to a 2.89 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 18+2⁄3 innings during the 2014 season. The next year, Steele made 10 starts for the Class A Short Season Eugene Emeralds, with whom he went 3–1 with a 2.66 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 40+2⁄3 innings.[8] In 2016, Steele was promoted to the Class A South Bend Cubs of the Midwest League.[9] He struggled at the start of the season, going 3-5 with a 6.17 ERA in his first nine games for South Bend, and was sent back to Eugene for the month of June.[10] He finished the season with a 5–7 record, 5.00 ERA, and 76 strikeouts in 77+1⁄3 innings across 19 starts.[8] Most of Steele's troubles came from batted balls: his 3.48 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) was a significant improvement over his ERA, and hitters had a .383 batting average on balls in play against him that season.[11]

He started 2017 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, but had his season cut short in August due to injury which required Tommy John Surgery.[12][13] In 20 starts prior to the injury, he went 6–7 with a 2.92 ERA. He returned from the injury in 2018 and pitched for the Arizona League Cubs, Myrtle Beach and Tennessee Smokies, pitching to a combined 2–2 record with a 2.31 ERA in 11 starts.[14] After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League.[15] The Cubs also added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[16]

Steele returned to the Smokies in 2019,[17] going 0–6 with a 5.59 ERA over 11 starts. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chicago Cubs (2021–present)

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On August 2, 2020, Steele was promoted to the major leagues for the first time but was optioned down on August 6 without appearing in a game.[18] On April 12, 2021, Steele was again promoted to the majors.[19] He made his MLB debut that night against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out the first batter he saw, Daniel Robertson.[20] He finished the year with a 4-4 record, throwing 59 strikeouts and putting up a 4.26 ERA.

In 2022, Steele went 4-7 over 24 starts with a 3.18 ERA and 126 strikeouts. In 7 starts after the All-Star break, he posted a 0.98 ERA while recording 49 strikeouts before a back injury ended his season.[21]

In 2023, Steele was 16–5 with a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts over 30 starts. On September 4, Steele had a career-high 12 strikeouts and won his 16th game of the year as the Cubs won 5-0 against the San Francisco Giants.[22] He selected as an All-Star and finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting that year.[23][24]

On March 9, 2024, Steele was named the Opening Day starter for the Cubs.[25] Steele exited his Opening Day start against the Texas Rangers and was placed on the 15-day injured list on March 30 with a left hamstring strain.[26] On May 6, the Cubs activated Steele from the injured list.[27] He consistently made his starts until September 2, when it was revealed that he would miss his next start due to elbow soreness.[28] Steele was later diagnosed with left elbow inflammation following an MRI on September 3.[29] He was later placed on the 15-day injured list on September 4 with left elbow tendinitis.[30]

Personal life

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Steele comes from an athletic family: his father played college football for Alabama, his grandfather played college basketball at Southern Miss, and his brother Jordan was a pitcher at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.[3][31] Steele proposed to his girlfriend, Libby Murphy, in 2022.[32] The couple have one child together, a son born July 2022.[33] Steele hosts a podcast on the Barstool Sports network titled "Steele the Show".[34]

References

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  1. ^ "Justin Steele Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Mooney, Patrick (August 24, 2023). "How the Cubs found Justin Steele in the draft and landed their new Cy Young contender". The Athletic. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Stephenson, Creg (November 13, 2013). "Baseball recruiting: George County's Justin Steele signs with Southern Miss". Press-Register. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Bastian, Jordan (July 10, 2023). "Steele has unique hometown All-Star connection". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Mooney, Patrick (July 11, 2023). "How Justin Steele became the All-Star pitcher the Cubs can build around at Wrigley Field". The Athletic. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Stephenson, Creg (June 6, 2014). "George County pitcher Justin Steele selected by Chicago Cubs in fifth round of MLB draft". Press-Register. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Stephenson, Creg (April 15, 2014). "Baseball: No-hit man Justin Steele, George County rolling as 5A playoffs approach". Press-Register. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Justin Steele Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Roster set for South Bend Cubs Opening Day on Thursday". WNDU-TV. April 4, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "SB Cubs score 7 in 9th for win". South Bend Tribune. July 10, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  11. ^ Huff, Rob (January 28, 2018). "Cubs minor league climbers and fallers: Which pitchers took steps forward, backward in 2017?". The Athletic. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "'Forever 21': Pelicans' Steele carries on family tradition through simple gesture". myrtlebeachonline. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  13. ^ "Chicago Cubs prospect Justin Steele has season-ending surgery". sunherald. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  14. ^ "Justin Steele Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  15. ^ Gonzales, Mark. "Nico Hoerner, Justin Steele are among the Cubs prospects headed to the Arizona Fall League". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  16. ^ "Cubs add three pitchers to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  17. ^ "2019 Chicago Cubs Affiliate Preview: Tennessee Smokies' Starting Pitchers Look to Impress". April 2, 2019.
  18. ^ "Cubs option relievers Rex Brothers and Justin Steele to South Bend, leaving just 1 left-hander in the bullpen". Chicago Tribune. August 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "Cubs Reinstate Brandon Workman, Dan Winkler; Reassign Pedro Strop". April 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "Justin Steele shows in his first major-league start why the Chicago Cubs left-hander's future is bright". Chicago Tribune. August 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Sikes, Ryan (February 20, 2023). "Justin Steele, Cubs Hoping to Carryover Second-Half Success". On Tap Sports Net. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  22. ^ "Cubs' Steele dominates Giants in 5-0 win, moves into tie for MLB lead in victories". AP News. September 4, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  23. ^ "Justin Steele looks forward after breakthrough season and end result that fuels the Cubs".
  24. ^ "Despite career year, Cubs pitcher Justin Steele looks forward - CBS Chicago". CBS News. February 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Bastian, Jordan (March 9, 2024). "Justin Steele named Cubs 2024 Opening Day starter". MLB.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "Cubs' Justin Steele: Officially placed on IL". CBSSports.com. March 30, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Cubs' Justin Steele: Activated ahead of Monday's start". CBSSports.com. May 6, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  28. ^ "Cubs' Justin Steele: Scratched from Tuesday's start". CBSSports.com. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  29. ^ "Chicago Cubs Pitcher Justin Steele Diagnosed with Elbow Inflammation". thereportonsports.com. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  30. ^ "Chicago Cubs Roster Moves: Justin Steele, Jorge Lopez and MORE!". thereportonsports.com. September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  31. ^ Hughes, Joe L. (June 17, 2017). "'Forever 21': Pelicans' Steele carries on family tradition through simple gesture". The Sun News. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  32. ^ Willis, Jeremy (May 3, 2022). "Chicago Cubs Ian Happ and Justin Steele use team's day off to get engaged to their girlfriends". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  33. ^ Lee, Maddie (July 12, 2022). "Cubs' Justin Steele returns from paternity list, will start Wednesday vs. Orioles". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  34. ^ "Steele The Show". Apple Podcasts.
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