Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
There aren’t too many reasons to watch the Chicago Cubs for the remainder of the year. Locked in another miserable season, with another one potentially on the way in 2014, the players in the system are almost more worth watching than the current club taking the field at Wrigley.
However, there’s at least one thing worth monitoring for the remainder of the year: Jake Arrieta. Arrieta is expected to make his return to the Cubs and stick with the club for the remainder of the year, having already made one start with the team, which was an impressive one.
A former top prospect of the Baltimore Orioles, Arrieta came over with Pedro Strop in the Scott Feldman trade. It already looks like a win for the Cubs because of how dominant Strop has been out of the bullpen, flashing closer’s stuff, but Arrieta has the ability to be a fantastic addition himself.
Arrieta has always had great stuff, which led to his billing as a top prospect, but it’s a matter of harnessing it and hitting his spots consistently. He hasn’t been able to do that, and has had a bit of a rough time at certain points in his brief stint with the Cubs. But when he’s on his game, he can be a force.
His one start with the Cubs this season was terrific. He allowed only one earned run across six innings pitched, with his fastball sitting in the mid 90′s all night. As long as he hits his spots, which he did for most of the night, he can gain confidence, which leads to him being extremely effective.
This next span could see Arrieta establish himself as a future of this Cubs’ rotation, if all goes well. Which makes him an intriguing quantity and at least one reason to tune into the Cubs in these final weeks of the season.
