29-year old lefty reliever Sean Marshall has been outstanding once again in 2011 for the Cubs. Marshall has pitched in 77 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 6-6 with 5 saves, a 2.28 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 157 games (0 starts) in his last two years as a full-time reliever and he is 13-11 with 6 saves, a 2.47 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Marshall has only given up 124 hits while whiffing 167 batters in his last two years with the Cubs in only 149 2/3 innings, which is pretty darn impressive. Marshall has now pitched in 291 games (59 starts) in his first six years with the Cubs and he is 32-40 with 7 saves, a 3.96 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Marshall is one of the best lefty relievers in all of baseball right now.

Since August 1st, 29-year old righty starting pitcher Randy Wells has gotten his act back together. Wells has started 10 games since August 1st, and he is 5-1 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has pitched in 22 games (all starts) overall this year for the Cubs and he is 7-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Wells has now pitched in 84 games (81 starts) in his first four years with the Cubs and he is 27-29 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He will likely have to fight for a spot in the Cubs’ starting rotation next spring.

The Cubs are thinking of moving 26-year old righty reliever Jeff Samardzija into the starting rotation. He will need to improve his control quite a bit if he’s going to consistently pitch into the 7th inning in 2012. Samardzija has pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has only given up 59 hits in his first 83 2/3 innings while whiffing 85 batters, which is impressive, but he has also walked a stunning 48 batters so far this year. Samardzija has now pitched in 122 games (5 starts) in his first 4 years for the Cubs and he is 10-9 with 1 save, a 4.52 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. It will be interesting to see what the Cubs decide to do with Samardzija in 2012 and beyond.

The Cubs traded a lot to get 27-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Garza from the Rays over the winter, so expectations were high for him in 2011. He has pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 8-10 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has only given up 168 hits in his first 173 innings this year, while whiffing 175 batters and walking only 60 of them. Garza is finishing this year strongly. In his last seven starts (August & September), Garza is 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has been impressive and he will be a building block for the Cubs’ rotation in 2012.

34-year old righty reliever Kerry Wood signed a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal with the Cubs over the winter and he has been well worth the money. Wood has pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 1-5 with 1 save, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has only given up 35 hits in 42 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 49 batters, so his stuff is still good. Wood has now pitched in 322 games (278 starts) in his first 11 years with the Cubs and he is 78-66 with 35 saves, a 3.64 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Kerry Wood wants to return to the Cubs in 2012 and they will likely consider it if he will pitch for the same amount of money next year.