Justin Steele

Bats L Throws L6'2" 205 lbBorn 1995 Lucedale, USADebut 2021Team CHC1x All-StarDraft 2014 R5 #139 Chicago Cubs, George County (MS) HSContract 1 y/$6.775M (26) 2026: $6,775,000

Projections

Season	BF	K%	BB%	HR%	1B%	XBH%	PITCH+
2026	286	22.1	6.9	2.92	21.5	6.57	102.8
2027							103.1
2028							101.1

Projected rates are per plate appearance or batter faced; counting stats scale with projected playing time. Statcast measurements inform these projections as inputs and are reported as measurements, not projected.

Most similar through age 29

His ten closest age-29 comparables averaged 102 PITCH+ the next season; 7 of 10 played. Averages cover only the players who got a next season, which is why the played count matters.

#	Player	Through	PITCH+ then	Next season	Next PA / BF
1	John Means	2022	108.3	124.2	88
2	Garrett Richards	2017	106.6	103.2	324
3	Erik Bedard	2008	109.8	113.0	348
4	Shane Bieber	2024	109.9	107.0	159
5	John Patterson	2007	105.0	did not play
6	Danny Salazar	2019	103.5	did not play
7	Tyler Mahle	2024	101.2	113.1	346
8	Hyun Jin Ryu	2016	105.1	95.4	541
9	Dinelson Lamet	2022	105.3	59.1	145
10	Dustin McGowan	2011	103.1	did not play

Batting

Year	Team	G	PA	R	H	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	HIT+
2025	CHC	4	0	0	0	0
2024	CHC	24	0	0	0	0
2023	CHC	30	0	0	0	0
2022	CHC	24	0	0	0	0
2021	CHC	20	13	3	2	4	0.154	0.154	0.154	0.308	-26.8
Career		102	13	3	2	4	0.154	0.154	0.154	0.308	-26.8

Pitching

Year	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	BF	HR	BB	SO	PITCH+
2027 proj									286				103.1
2026*									0
2025	CHC	3	1	4.76	4	4	0	22.7	92	5	5	21	96.5	106.1	102.5
2024	CHC	5	5	3.07	24	24	0	134.7	555	12	37	135	111.4	99.1	110.5
2023	CHC	16	5	3.06	30	30	0	173.3	716	14	36	176	109.8	98.8	108.5
2022	CHC	4	7	3.18	24	24	0	119.0	512	8	50	126	104.0	96.0	100.0
2021	CHC	4	4	4.26	20	9	0	57.0	248	12	27	59	95.1	103.0	98.1
Career		32	22	3.30	102	91	0	506.7	2123	51	155	517	106.5		105.5

Statcast

Year	PA	EV	LA	Barrel%	HardHit%	Whiff%	Chase%	xBA	xSLG	xwOBA	Sprint
2021	13	93.3	-9.4	0.0	33.3	15.0	45.5	0.219	0.243	0.203

Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	Inn	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	Runs saved
2025	CHC	P	4	23	2	1	0	0	1.000	+0.7
2024	CHC	P	24	135	3	7	0	0	1.000	-0.6
2023	CHC	P	30	173	4	11	3	0	0.833	-1.1
2022	CHC	P	24	119	4	3	1	1	0.875	-2.5
2021	CHC	P	20	57	1	9	0	1	1.000	+0.9

Runs saved covers the Statcast era; for catchers it includes framing.

Minor leagues

Year	Level	Team	Side	PA / BF	Line	AVG / ERA
2021	AAA	Iowa Cubs	Pit	110	27.1 IP, 26% K	1.33
2019	AA	Tennessee Smokies	Pit	170	38.2 IP, 25% K	5.65
2018	AA	Tennessee Smokies	Pit	42	10.0 IP, 17% K	3.60
2018	A+	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Pit	74	18.1 IP, 26% K	2.49
2018	Rk	AZL Cubs 1	Pit	69	18.1 IP, 39% K	1.49
2017	A+	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Pit	432	98.2 IP, 19% K	2.93
2016	A	South Bend Cubs	Pit	361	77.1 IP, 21% K	5.02
2014	Rk	AZL Cubs	Pit	79	18.2 IP, 32% K	2.97

Splits

Year	vs LHP	vs RHP	Home	Away
2021	0.000	0.180	0.000	0.360

wOBA by split, from pitch level data, 2015 on. For pitchers the split is the batter side faced.