Before Jake Arrieta was the feared starting pitcher for the National League Champion Chicago Cubs, he was a mediocre starter for the Baltimore Orioles.
Arrieta was drafted by the Orioles in 2007 in the fifth round. He made his debut three years later, pitching six innings and recording six strikeouts as he beat the New York Yankees. Fast forward to 2016, and he is now one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers in the major leagues. He is also preparing to start Game Two of the World Series for the Cubs.
Arrieta was not always this good and it has been a long journey to the top for the 30-year-old from Farmington, Missouri. After his debut in 2010, he finished the year at 6-6 with an earned run average of 4.66 — not bad for a 24-year-old rookie pitching in a stacked American League East. The following two seasons Arrieta never took the next step and was traded in 2013 to the Cubs after making just five starts that season with the Orioles.
The Orioles received Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger in exchange for Arrieta and reliever Pedro Strop. Clevenger was used in a deal this offseason to get slugger Mark Trumbo from Seattle. Looking at the production from Trumbo this season, the Arrieta-deal wasn’t all bad.
Arrieta has definitely taken the next step with the Cubs. He has won 54 games in 98 starts and is pitching to an ERA of 2.52 while in Chicago. Not to mention he won the 2015 Cy Young Award and has thrown two no-hitters in the last two seasons.
Obviously, it has Orioles fans wondering: what could have been? There are three former Orioles pitchers, in Arrieta, Strop and Andrew Miller, all pitching in the World Series. Miller pitched for the Orioles in the second half of 2014 and is now the swiss army knife for the Cleveland Indians bullpen, pitching in any situation manager Terry Francona places him in. All three have had crucial roles in there team’s run to the World Series.
On the other hand, with the exception of Miller, these pitchers seemed to blossom in Chicago. The Cubs’ player development deserves a lot of credit, but that also doesn’t mean the Orioles shouldn’t be blamed for suppressing their talent.
Wednesday night, Arrieta will take the mound in Cleveland, trying to even the series at one before it heads back to Chicago. There is a lot riding on the right arm of Arrieta in Game Two. The Cubs don’t want to go down two games and let the 108-year-old curse spread its wings.
Josh Belanger is the Nationals and Orioles writer for Outside Pitch Sports Network. You can connect with him on Facebook and also on Twitter.
The post Remember when Jake Arrieta was an average starter for the Baltimore Orioles? appeared first on OutsidePitchMLB.