Phillies: Jake Arrieta off to best start since Cy Young season

Jake Arrieta has played a huge part in the Phillies success this season, starting off his year with his best numbers since 2015.

Phillies starting pitchers have been utterly dominant this month. After Tuesday’s win, their starters now have the best ERA of any team in May. They also rank third in fWAR, second in fielding-independent pitching and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Jake Arrieta has contributed massively to this success. When the team signed him, they were hoping he could be a serviceable No. 2 starter behind Aaron Nola. He has done that and more.

Arrieta’s numbers have been great this year through 10 starts. He has a 2.16 ERA, 3.16 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP. Arrieta has a rather pedestrian strikeout rate (17.2 percent) but he has made up for it by inducing the second-most ground balls of any qualified pitcher. He also has the fifth-lowest hard contact rate.

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Both of these factors have kept opposing teams off the board. Arrieta had his one bad outing against the Marlins where he allowed six runs, but otherwise, he has never allowed more than two earned runs.

Arrieta explained that he could rack up more strikeouts, but he is more worried about getting batters out and lasting deeper into games: [quote via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia]

“Everybody likes strikeouts, which is great,” Arrieta said. “But outs are most important. It doesn’t matter how they come. I have seven guys behind me. I’m not going to pitch away from contact. I could strike more guys out if I threw more four-seamers and threw more breaking stuff, but why do that if I could throw more efficient innings with less pitches?“I pitch to contact and get a punch-out when I need it. I’m trying to get 27 outs and if I can’t do that, I’m trying to get as close as I can.”

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Arrieta turned in another impressive performance Tuesday night against the Dodgers. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing six hits and two walks. Arrieta struck out five batters, throwing 109 pitches. Philadelphia cruised to a much-needed victory as they beat the Dodgers, 6-1. After the game, manager Gabe Kapler called Arrieta an “animal” on the mound.

After last season, there were concerns that Arrieta is on the decline. His numbers in the first half of the season were especially atrocious. However, he is back on the rise.

In fact, Arrieta is pitching almost at the level of his 2015 Cy Young season. His ERA and FIP are both the lowest since then. Arrieta is on pace for 4.4 wins above replacement, also best since 2015. That total would rank third-highest in his career behind only his breakout 2014 season and his Cy Young season.

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If Arrieta continues to pitch like this, he could be heading to his second career All-Star Game. It will be extra sweet if he goes since it will be hosted by the Nationals in Washington, D.C. Either way, the Phillies are certainly getting their money’s worth.

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