Jake Arrieta shut out the Yankees for eight innings on May 2, striking nine and walking none, and it looked like the 26-year-old right-hander might finally be living up to the promise he showed as a top prospect in the Orioles’ farm system.
Instead he’s been a mess since then, going 0-5 with a 7.96 ERA in six starts. Sunday versus the Rays he failed to make it out of the fifth inning for the third time in his last five outings, leading to speculation that he might be headed for Triple-A.
Arrieta’s secondary numbers during that time aren’t nearly as hideous as his win-loss record or ERA, as he’s posted a decent 28/14 K/BB ratio in 32 innings, but he’s allowed opponents to bat .330 with five homers.
There’s still time for Arrieta to get back on track and become an impact pitcher for the Orioles, but any thoughts of him developing into a top-of-the-rotation starter are rapidly disappearing and may already be gone. He’s started 52 career games and thrown 290 innings ... and has a 5.03 ERA with just 6.3 strikeouts per nine frames.
