Justin

Steele

A pair of homers would do all the damage on Steele. He surrendered a two-run blast by Brent Rooker to start the first inning. Shea Langeliers added a two-run shot in the third. The 29-year-old left-hander settled in nicely, pitching into the seventh and falling in line for the win. He struck out six. Steele lines up for a start against the Rangers in Chicago on Monday.

Steele allowed six hits — one of them a homer — and walked one against two strikeouts. He gets the win, but that’s more thanks to the Cubs’ offense than how well the southpaw pitched. Steele should be fine, but this spring — and this outing — have left a bit to be desired. He’ll get the A’s in Sacramento next.

Taillon finds himself sandwiched between Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga, who will take the ball on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Nothing official regarding who will draw the starting assignment for Sunday’s series finale in Arizona, but we’re anticipating that nod going to either Matthew Boyd or Ben Brown. The other would presumably start Monday’s series opener against the Athletics in Sacramento, which would put them in line for a two-start week.

It was Shota Imanaga who got the start in the opener, but the Cubs will “re-open” the season with Steele on the bump. The left-hander has looked rough this spring and struggled against the Dodgers on Wednesday, but the 29-year-old is a solid bet to be a quality option in 2025 based on his track record. Jameson Taillon will start the second game, and Imanaga’s return is still to be determined.

Steele will be the answer to a trivia question no one asked, as he gave up the first homer of the season to Tommy Edman. He also gave up a two-run shot to Enrique Hernández, although it is worth pointing out that Hernández should have struck out on the pitch prior. Still counts, and Steele’s struggles over the spring carried over into his season debut. Fantasy managers who drafted Steele shouldn’t be too concerned, just a little disappointed that these stats count.

Steele was pounded for 10 hits, including three homers, in his final spring outing. He struck out three and didn’t hand out a free pass. The 29-year-old southpaw will kick off the regular season by square off against Dodgers phenom Roki Sasaki next week in Game 2 of the Tokyo Series.

On the plus side, the 29-year-old hurler did record a pair of strikeouts and did not walk a batter. All of the damage done against him came in his final inning as Jake Burger smacked a two-out single into right field and Kyle Higashioka followed with a two-run blast. Steele got just one swing and miss on 33 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 30 percent. He has looked very sharp through his first two spring starts, so don’t be surprised if his average draft position (currently around 120) begins to climb.

Sure it’s an exhibition start, and sure it’s against the worst team in baseball. Steele was nevertheless impressive; allowing a pair of singles and picking up five-of-six outs via punchout. Steele was limited by injury in 2024, but he has the arsenal and command to be a very strong fantasy option in 2025.

Steele will follow Opening Day starter Shota Imanaga and will have the distinction of facing off against Roki Sasaki when the pitching phenom makes his highly-anticipated major-league debut in the Tokyo Dome. The 29-year-old lefty made only 24 starts last year due to injury, but should be a borderline top 40 range starting pitcher in fantasy drafts this spring.

Steele made $4 million as a Super Two player last year, so this is his second of four arbitration seasons. The 29-year-old was limited to 24 starts last season, but he ended up with a 3.07 ERA. He should work nicely as a No. 3 starter in mixed leagues this season.