Zack Wheeler is a perfect pitching target for the Cubs

A report came out today from Andy Martino linking the Cubs as a possibility for Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.

Wheeler, 29, is a tall, hard throwing right hander with a fastball that has been averaging near 97 MPH could be a real weapon for the Cubs rotation. Despite the high velocity he's had surprisingly good control with a 6.7% walk rate and a 3.82 K/BB ratio this year.

Although the results for Wheeler haven't been as good as last season with a 4.69 ERA, his peripherals are a lot better with a 3.83 xFIP. His left on base percentage (LOB%) is a career low 65.9 percent and indicates  he's been dealt a pretty poor hand in the luck department.

Something that has plagued Wheeler this year is a significant increase in the amount of hard contact against him. Last year just 27.1% of the balls in play against him were considered hard contact which ranked in the top four percent in the league, but this year that number has spiked to 34.5 percent.

A decent chunk of that could be attributed to the significant spike in the usage of his sinker, which he has doubled in usage from last year to much worse results. Hitters are averaging .285 off the sinker with an average exit velocity of 87.7 MPH which is a significant regression from last year where hitters averaged .204 and an exit velocity of 81.5 MPH.

He's also dropped the usage of his four seam fastball from 42.3 percent of the time to 27.5 percent of the time despite a .216 batting average against and a .295 slugging percentage this year compared to a .244 average and .342 slugging last year.

The Cubs rotation has been OK, but not really good this season. Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, and Jon Lester have all been great, but Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish have both been big time disappointments for the Cubs. With Cole Hamels potentially still on the shelf for a while with an oblique injury, it's fair to ask whether the Cubs should pursue a starting pitcher.

Obviously the biggest factor to consider is the cost of acquiring Wheeler. If the Mets want Nico Hoerner or Miguel Amaya for a couple month rental than the Cubs should just laugh at the Mets, but if they are able to give up some mid-tier prospects along with being able to fill their bigger needs than this is something they should absolutely pursue.