them. When all of them came over, it was pretty cool.”

Each, however, was aware of the talent the others possessed.

“Absolutely,” Grimm said. “I would say Kyle has opened my eyes up a lot this year. He was always that smart pitcher in the minor leagues going through lineups, but it’s a whole different story here going through that third and fourth time. To see him grow this year has been nothing short of impressive.”

It was during a stay at Class AAA Iowa in 2013 that Hendricks first caught sight of Arrieta, who had just arrived from Baltimore with Strop in a deal that sent Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger to the Orioles.

When the Cubs acquired Arrieta, they sent him to Iowa, brought him up for a spot start and then sent him back to Des Moines. Arrieta returned to the Cubs for good — and then some. He went 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA in 2014 before winning the Cy Young Award last year with a record of 22-6 and an ERA of 1.77.

Hendricks remembers catching a glimpse.

“Right when I got called up to Iowa, he was there,” Hendricks said. “I don’t think I could have ever imagined it coming to this because I knew nothing about him. I didn’t even know who he was. When I did show up in Iowa and saw him throw for his first game, I think he struggled a little bit.

“He had some walks and gave up some runs, but the one thing I noticed right away was his stuff, and we even talked about it in the locker room.

“It was the best stuff pretty much in baseball that we had seen at that point. That was always there, and I know that’s probably why the Cubs were pretty high on him from the start, if he could just figure it out.

“Obviously, he puts all the hard work and dedication into it to figure it out, to let his body figure it out. His stuff is still premier, one of the best in the game, and now his mechanics are solid, and he’s got that command to go with it.”

Russell was one of the final big young trade pieces, coming in a July 4, 2014, firecracker of a deal with Oakland that sent Samardzija and Hammel to the A’s for Russell, pitcher Dan Straily and outfielder Billy McKinney.

“After the trade, I just wanted to come here and come to a good ballclub,” Russell sad. “I really didn’t know what to expect.

“I thought whenever I got here, it was a great ball team. I was placed in Double-A, and they had a lot of great guys that I’ve gotten to know. Some of them are here in the major leagues right now. It’s pretty cool. I’ve been blessed that the Cubs gave me the opportunity to play.”

One could argue that the Cubs pulled off multiple heists in getting these young players. In fairness to the teams that traded them, those teams wanted to win immediately, and one way of doing that is by trading prospects for veterans who can help down the stretch.

But give credit to the Cubs for scouting a Cy Young winner in Arrieta, a Cy Young candidate this year in Hendricks, and a possible Gold Glove winner and future MVP in Russell.

It was just three years ago this month that Hendricks sat in the dugout at Wrigley Field for the first time and talked about being the Cubs’ minor-league pitcher of the year before going on to finish work for his degree at Dartmouth.

“It seems like the blink of an eye, and I’m here where I’m at already,” he said. “You always project where you’re going to go or what’s going to happen, but this for me is above and beyond anything I ever imagined. Even coming into this season I had goals that were much lower than where I’m at right now.

“I’m just trying to take every day, take in what I can, learn from the game, learn from my peers, the other guys we have on this staff. Just go day to day and know what my body needs and try to keep this consistency going.

“We all know what we want to accomplish in October and where this whole team is headed.”

• Follow Bruce’s reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.