Cubs ace Jake Arrieta has continued to dominate opposing hitters this season, proving that his Cy Young 2015 campaign was most certainly not a fluke.
Through five starts this year, Arrieta is 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP, after compiling a 22-6 record with a 1.77 ERA and 0.86 WHIP last season.
Arrieta found immediate success with Chicago after being dealt to the Windy City in 2013 from Baltimore in exchange for a half-season rental of pitcher Scott Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger. Despite being a top prospect in the Orioles' farm system, Arrieta never found his groove at the big league level, posting a 5.46 ERA in parts of four seasons in Baltimore.
Such a rapid turnaround in performance has led to the inevitable questions from the always skeptical baseball community about whether a change of scenery is really the reason Arrieta is now thriving.
While there's been no evidence of performance enhancing drug use for Arrieta, the sport continues to have a black cloud surrounding it after decades of rampant cheating.
Arrieta notices the speculation and vehemently denies any rumors. After ESPN's Stephen A. Smith tweeted, "Jake Arrieta shouldn't be laughing about questions surrounding his performance," the Cubs star responded by saying, "Laughing is exactly what I will do. You continue your thing though. No one will undercut my hard work."
Cubs GM Theo Epstein addressed the whispers to a Chicago radio show. "I found it to be completely reckless," he said, according to CBS Sports. "[He] would make that type of accusation without talking to anyone who knows Jake and anyone who understands his work ethic and changes that he's made."
Understanding why Arrieta didn't have the same success early in his career in Baltimore is easy if you ask Orioles closer Zach Britton.
"They took away the individual approach to everything," Britton said, according to Yahoo Sports. "Things we did extremely well in the minor leagues to get to the big leagues - we were told that just doesn't work here. And you're like, ‘That's kind of weird, right?' You don't just reinvent yourself in the big leagues. That was the struggle. And the struggle, as we got older, was trying to get back to what made us what we were before."
Britton goes on to explain that former Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair had many disagreements with the top Orioles pitching prospects, including Arrieta, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and himself. Arrieta was forbidden to throw his cut fastball, now his best pitch, the article said.
"If Jake had the opportunity to work with [today's coaches], I don't see why he wouldn't have done here what he's done there," Britton said. "The stuff was the guy who could throw two no-hitters. That didn't just come out of nowhere."
The evidence of Arrieta's career turnaround clearly points to hard work and a change in organizations, not PED usage, and to suggest otherwise would simply be irresponsible.
Here's what else has been happening in the NL Central:
- Reds left-handed pitching prospect Cody Reed is quickly making a name for himself because of his devastating slider.
- After a slow start to the season, Andrew McCutchen hit three home runs for the Pirates on Tuesday night.
- Cardinals pitcher Seth Maness has struggled this season, and it may be a warning sign of things to come.