Cubs Starter Matthew Boyd Slowly Returning To All-Star Form

The Chicago Cubs' rotation has been affected by the injury bug all season. 

Cade Horton underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Justin Steele was expected to be back in early June, but a setback in his recovery will keep him from starting any games. Edward Cabrera is currently nursing an adductor/hamstring strain. Jameson Taillon is working his way back from a hamstring strain, and it’s unclear when Ben Brown will return from his neck strain. 

Even Matthew Boyd has had multiple stints on the injured list this season. Boyd missed roughly three weeks with a bicep strain in April and spent more than six weeks on the IL with a meniscus/shoulder issue in May/June. 

But if the Cubs are going to make a deep postseason run, they’ll need Boyd to return to vintage form. 

Boyd was a big part of last year’s playoff team. He had a 3.21 ERA, 1.091 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts across 179 ⅔ innings pitched in the regular season and threw 4 ⅔ shutout innings in Game 4 of the National League Divisional Series to stave off elimination. 

The Cubs are going to need that version of Boyd to show up in the second half, especially given all the injuries the rotation is still dealing with. When he is at his best, he really makes this rotation that much better. 

Just look at his start on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. The southpaw turned back the clock and returned to that 2025 vintage form. He threw six shutout innings with three hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. 

Boyd was in full control on the mound in this start. He generated 15 whiffs, totaled 16 called strikes, and had a 35% chase rate. His offspeed stuff was working well, and his four-seam fastball led the way with 12 called strikes + whiffs (CStr + Whiffs)

The only time that he got into a bit of trouble on the mound was when he allowed the first two hitters to reach base in the bottom of the fourth inning. Boyd then proceeded to strike out Samuel Basallo, Blaze Alexander, and Dylan Beaves on his nasty slider. 

Although Boyd hasn’t been the same pitcher as last year, he is slowly returning to that form. He has a 2.08 ERA over his last four starts and has allowed zero runs in two of his last three outings since returning from the IL. 

There is a lot of optimism that Boyd can be the 2025 version of himself in the second half. The 35-year-old has looked better on the mound recently, and his swing-and-miss stuff should continue to help his numbers improve. He currently ranks in the 87th percentile in chase rate (34.5%), 84th percentile in whiff rate (30.4%), and 75th percentile in strikeout rate (26.2%).

Tuesday’s start against the Orioles could be a sign of what’s to come for Boyd.