Spencer

Arrighetti

Arrighetti shouldn’t have any limitations at the outset of camp after managing to avoid surgery after additional imaging didn’t reveal any UCL damage. The 25-year-old former top prospect was limited to just seven starts this past season due to elbow inflammation and a fractured thumb. He’ll be an interesting late-round lottery ticket in fantasy drafts next spring since he’s a virtual lock to have a spot in Houston’s rotation.

Arrighetti told reporters over the weekend that he isn’t dealing with an UCL damage in his right elbow and believes he’ll avoid surgery. The second opinion seems to be precautionary in nature to confirm his initial diagnosis. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point before the regular season wraps up.

While the 25-year-old hurler will still miss the remainder of the season with inflammation in his right elbow, it’s encouraging that he won’t need to go under the knife. He should be fully recovered and ready to rock for the start of spring training.

This came out of nowhere. Arrighetti was scheduled to take the ball for Friday’s series opener against the Rangers. That’s no longer happening. There’s a strong possibility his season is over given the nature of the injury and the greater concern here is that he’ll wind up missing time next season as well. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point in the coming days.

Arrighetti issued five walks, but they didn’t hurt. The lone run he allowed came on the lone hit he allowed; a Zach Neto homer in the third inning. Arrighetti fanned eight after never striking out more than five in any of his first six starts. Because he left a tie game, he avoided what could have been a sixth straight loss since coming off the IL. His ERA stands at 5.35 as he prepares to face the Rangers next weekend.

The Astros did score one run while Arrighetti was in the game today, an improvement over his previous two starts. Arrighetti was successful despite generating just three misses on 47 swings and 97 pitches. With a 6.52 ERA and a 15/10 K/BB in 19 1/3 innings over four starts since coming off the IL. he hasn’t provided much reason to think he’ll be useful in mixed leagues down the stretch. He’ll face the Angels next weekend.

Arrighetti loaded the bases with none out in the second, but he pitched out of it without any damage, and he was behind just 1-0 on a Wenceel Pérez homer heading into the fifth. However, with one out in that frame, he gave up a double, a walk, a triple, a homer, a walk and a single consecutively. He only got out the inning because a Dillon Dingler liner was caught on a dive by Carlos Correa and turned into an easy double play. Arrighetti has given up 13 earned runs over 13 2/3 innings in his three starts since coming off the injured list. Those hoping he’d offer some mixed league value probably ought to move on.

Arrighetti worked around two walks in the first inning, then walked two more to load the bases in the third. A hit batter and a sacrifice fly put two runs on the board for the Red Sox. Arrighetti tossed two more scoreless frames, giving up just one hit while issuing five walks. The 25-year-old right-hander will look to clean up the walks when he takes on the Tigers in Detroit on Monday.

This was not the return from the injured list Arrighetti envisioned. After his offense spotted him a two-run lead before taking the mound, Arrighetti allowed hits to six of the first seven batters he faced to give that lead right back up. The Marlins pushed another run across in each of the next two frames before being yanked in the fourth with another runner in scoring position. He didn’t have the same feel for his secondaries that made him so successful over the second half of last season and the hope is that he can find that consistency as he makes a few more starts. His next chance to get right will come at home against the Red Sox.

Arrighetti is facing the Marlins today after missing four months with a fractured thumb. His velocity was down about two mph in his last rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land, so we’d be pretty nervous about using him out of the gate here. However, he might have some extra adrenaline in his first major league start since Apr. 5.