Thursday afternoon was a prime example that showcases how Craig Counsell views lefty Justin Steele.

A hard-nosed pitcher, that flies under-the-radar, utilizes a simple approach and produces dominant outings more often than not.

“He’s a very clear-headed competitor,” Counsell said before the Cubs’ 10-2 win over the Tigers at Wrigley Field. “It’s just he doesn’t overcomplicate things, but he really knows himself. He knows how he wants to compete, and not a lot gets in the way.

“And it’s a good trait. You try to teach it; you try to get better at it. I think he is kind of blessed with it.”

[WATCH: Justin Steele strikes out 10 in brilliant start against Detroit]

On a day when the Cubs’ offense shone — Miguel Amaya’s grand slam kickstarted a breakout game in which they collected 13 hits — Steele was just as impressive.

[WATCH: Miguel Amaya hits first career grand slam]

He struck out 10 in 7 innings of 2-run ball against the Tigers. The outing was vintage Steele — he induced plenty of weak content, kept hitters off balance with 19 whiffs and pounded the zone — he threw 72% of his 94 pitches for strikes.

He allowed a single and fielder’s choice to the first two batters he faced, then locked it down, retiring 17 of the next 18 hitters he faced.

“He just went on the attack in the strike zone,” Counsell said after the game. “He was just ahead in the count, ahead in the count, ahead in the count. And that always spells good things.”

And once again, he did it with the simple approach.

“That’s why Justin so good,” Counsell said. “And, I think, a lot of the good pitchers are like that. There’s no secrets. They just beat you. And that’s what Justin did today.”

He has a 3.07 ERA and 1.07 WHIP this season in 21 starts. It’s on pace with the numbers that he put up last season (3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP), when he was a Cy Young candidate for much of the season.

“That’s obviously a goal of mine, want to show that I’m consistent, want to do it on a year-to-year basis and whatnot,” Steele said. “So, yeah, job and mission accomplished for me, just want to continue to build off of it.”

And as the season winds down, Steele continues to show he’s a fixture at the top of the Cubs’ rotation, a strength heading into 2025. Entering Thursday, Cubs’ starters had a 3.72 ERA, the 6th-best mark in baseball — and that’s with Steele and Jameson Taillon missing time with injuries.

Thursday was proof of what Steele at his best can be for this Cubs team.

“I think the nature of this game is you always have to prove it the next time, prove it the next time, prove it the next time,” Counsell said. “You’re always required to do that. Justin’s going to be required to do that next year. He’s going to prove it again. Like, ‘OK, so what? Prove it again.’ That’s how you have to look at it.”