Justin Steele

Justin Carl Steele (born July 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021 and was an MLB All-Star in 2023.

Early life
Justin Carl Steele was born July 11, 1995, in Lucedale, Mississippi, and was raised in nearby Agricola by Ben Steele and Nicki Clark. Steele and his older brother Jordan spent their childhood practicing baseball in their family backyard. During his sophomore year at George County High School, while rehabilitating a lower back injury, Steele's fastball velocity increased to 90 mph, which attracted the attention of scouts and recruiters. As a junior in 2013, Steele had a 7–3 win–loss record and 1.94 earned run average (ERA) with 98 strikeouts in $61 1/3$ innings pitched. In addition to pitching, he spent time as an outfielder and designated hitter, batting .326 with three home runs and 23 runs batted in (RBI). The next year, Steele went 5–1 with a 0.98 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 43 innings, including two no-hitters.

Draft and minor leagues
The Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Steele in the fifth round, 139th overall, of the 2014 MLB Draft. At the time, he had committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi. He ultimately joined the Cubs on a $1 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut with the Rookie-level AZL Cubs, pitching to a 2.89 ERA with 25 strikeouts in $18 2/3$ innings during the 2014 season. The next year, Steele made 10 starts for the Class A Short Season Eugene Emeralds, with whom he went 3–1 with a 2.66 ERA and 38 strikeouts in $40 2/3$ innings. In 2016, Steele was promoted to the Class A South Bend Cubs of the Midwest League. He struggled at the start of the season, going 3-5 with a 6.17 ERA in his first nine games for South Bend, and was sent back to Eugene for the month of June. He finished the season with a 5–7 record, 5.00 ERA, and 76 strikeouts in $77 1/3$ innings across 19 starts. Most of Steele's troubles came from batted balls: his 3.48 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) was a significant improvement over his ERA, and hitters had a .383 batting average on balls in play against him that season.

He started 2017 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, but had his season cut short in August due to injury which required Tommy John Surgery. In 20 starts prior to the injury, he went 6–7 with a 2.92 ERA. He returned from the injury in 2018 and pitched for the Arizona League Cubs, Myrtle Beach and Tennessee Smokies, pitching to a combined 2–2 record with a 2.31 ERA in 11 starts. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League. The Cubs also added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

Steele returned to the Smokies in 2019, going 0–6 with a 5.59 ERA over 11 starts. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chicago Cubs (2021–present)
On August 2, 2020, Steele was promoted to the major leagues for the first time but was optioned down on August 6 without appearing in a game. On April 12, 2021, Steele was again promoted to the majors. He made his MLB debut that night against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out the first batter he saw, Daniel Robertson.

In 2023, Steele was 16–5 with a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts over 30 starts. He selected as an All-Star and finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting that year.

Personal life
Steele comes from an athletic family: his father played college football for Alabama, his grandfather played college basketball at Southern Miss, and his brother Jordan was a pitcher at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Steele proposed to his girlfriend, Libby Murphy, in 2022. The couple have one child together, a son born July 2022.