Between April 29th and May 15th Arrieta had 4 starts for AAA Norfolk, where he allowed a total of 18 walks. No matter how good his other peripheral stats have been, you knew the O’s were not going to promote Arrieta to the bigs without him showing improved control.
In his past 3 starts, he has allowed just 6 walks in a total of 23 innings. That improvement combined with him now likely to avoid being designated a Super 2, should be earning him a ticket to Baltimore.
After his start last-night, Arrieta is 6-2 with a 1.77 era. He has pitched 71 innings, allowed just 45 hits, 3 homers, 34 walks, with 62 k’s. He has a Ground to Fly-ball ratio of 1.46 and is holding hitters to a .183 batting average.
How about bringing him up and letting him get his feet wet out of the bullpen? Like Hernandez he is a power-arm that will be capable of pitching multiple innings. Having him available for multiple games a week will improve the O’s immediately. If the O’s then move Millwood or Guthrie at the deadline, he can slide into the rotation.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.