With pitching obvious trade-deadline focus, are Cubs getting best version of David Peterson at right time?
LOUIS – When David Peterson served up a solo homer in the second inning Monday night, it looked like a continuation of a potentially worrisome trend.</p><p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs" >Cubs</a>’ lefty starter arrived in a midseason trade with a reputation as an elite ground-ball pitcher, and given the Gold Glove defenders populating the infield, it seemed like a perfect fit, the right ingredients for <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/06/26/cubs-david-peterson-trade-mets-starting-rotation-craig-counsell-all-star-pitcher" >a change-of-scenery success story</a> after Peterson, a 2025 All Star, saw his fortunes dip with the Mets.</p><p>But since coming to the Cubs, his ground-ball numbers hadn’t been nearly as good as they were with his former team. He took a 32.4-percent ground-ball rate into his fifth start as a Cub on Monday, which paled in comparison to the 51.1-percent rate he had in 16 appearances with the Mets.</p><p>And then the home run, the fourth he’d allowed in five outings after giving up just six in 16 pre-trade appearances.</p><p>But it wasn’t a harbinger of doom.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
LOUIS – When David Peterson served up a solo homer in the second inning Monday night, it looked like a continuation of a potentially worrisome trend.</p><p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs" >Cubs</a>’ lefty starter arrived in a midseason trade with a reputation as an elite ground-ball pitcher, and given the Gold Glove defenders populating the infield, it seemed like a perfect fit, the right ingredients for <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/06/26/cubs-david-peterson-trade-mets-starting-rotation-craig-counsell-all-star-pitcher" >a change-of-scenery success story</a> after Peterson, a 2025 All Star, saw his fortunes dip with the Mets.</p><p>But since coming to the Cubs, his ground-ball numbers hadn’t been nearly as good as they were with his former team. He took a 32.4-percent ground-ball rate into his fifth start as a Cub on Monday, which paled in comparison to the 51.1-percent rate he had in 16 appearances with the Mets.</p><p>And then the home run, the fourth he’d allowed in five outings after giving up just six in 16 pre-trade appearances.</p><p>But it wasn’t a harbinger of doom. Instead, Peterson turned in his best performance since the trade, getting more grounders than fly balls for the first time since changing uniforms.</p><p>“David pitched really, really well,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “I obviously haven’t seen a lot of David when he was at his best, but this – the ground balls, the swings at the sinker – feels like this is what it looks like.
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- LOUIS – When David Peterson served up a solo homer in the second inning Monday night, it looked like a continuation of a potentially worrisome trend.</p><p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs" >Cubs</a>’ lefty starter arrived in a midseason trade with a reputation as an elite ground-ball pitcher, and given the Gold Glove defenders populating the infield, it seemed like a perfect fit, the right ingredients for <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/06/26/cubs-david-peterson-trade-mets-starting-rotation-craig-counsell-all-star-pitcher" >a change-of-scenery success story</a> after Peterson, a 2025 All Star, saw his fortunes dip with the Mets.</p><p>But since coming to the Cubs, his ground-ball numbers hadn’t been nearly as good as they were with his former team. He took a 32.4-percent ground-ball rate into his fifth start as a Cub on Monday, which paled in comparison to the 51.1-percent rate he had in 16 appearances with the Mets.</p><p>And then the home run, the fourth he’d allowed in five outings after giving up just six in 16 pre-trade appearances.</p><p>But it wasn’t a harbinger of doom.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 14h ago.
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With pitching obvious trade-deadline focus, are Cubs getting best version of David Peterson at right time?
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times