Arrieta’s no-hitter a reminder of Baltimore’s failures developing pitchers

When Jake Arrieta threw his no-hitter for the Cubs on Sunday, it was just the latest in a span of brilliant performances that the 29-year-old has pieced together since joining Chicago in mid-2013. With a 17-6 record, a 2.11 ERA and 190 strikeouts across 183 innings this year, Arrieta sits among the top candidates for the National League Cy Young Award.

And his two complete games this season? Two more than the entire Baltimore Orioles, Arrieta’s former club, have thrown as a team all year.

Arrieta left Baltimore seemingly destined to get his act together on the mound and finally take the flashes of brilliance he displayed with the Orioles and turn them into something great. He always had a phenomenal curveball in Baltimore, and while he was never touted as a Top 100 prospect or anything of the sort, there was always an expectation that he was going to develop into at least a quality mid-rotation starter.

While he did have some success, Arrieta’s story with Baltimore is quite similar to that of many young pitchers like him over the last half-decade. Here’s a look at the disaster that has gone on with young pitchers in the Orioles organization:

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Brad Bergesen, looked at as the future of the Orioles rotation when he debuted in 2009, hasn’t pitched in the affiliated ball since 2012.

Brian Matusz, whom many pegged as a Rookie of the Year candidate entering 2010, is now a lefty specialist in the Baltimore bullpen and hasn’t been a starter since 2012.

Matt Hobgood, who the Orioles took fifth overall in 2009, has battled injuries along the way and just reached AA Bowie this year. Hobgood gave up seven runs in 9.2 innings and hasn’t pitched since June 17.

Tim Berry pitched to a solid 3.51 ERA with strong strikeout numbers in 133.1 innings at AA last year, and seemed ready to prove in 2015 that he could be a big-league pitcher next season. But he’s gone the opposite direction, seeing his strikeout rate drop, his walk rate rise and his ERA more than double to a 7.32 mark in 15 starts and 23 total appearances with the Orioles AA club.

Dylan Bundy, who has sat on Top 100 prospect lists since 2012, has thrown just 167.0 innings since being drafted fourth overall in that year’s draft. He made two relief appearances with the Orioles as a 19-year-old in 2012 but hasn’t seen the majors since.

Kevin Gausman, another first-round selection by the O’s, was called up to the majors less than a year after being taken out of LSU. He’s been called up and sent down more times than one could count over the last few seasons, and has been shifted from the starting rotation to the bullpen and back equally as many times. Gausman has a 12-18 record with a 4.26 ERA to show for it as he closes out his third big-league season.

And it doesn’t stop there. Perhaps the lone success story is Chris Tillman, though even he posted 5+ ERAs in each of his first three big-league seasons and has seen his ERA jump above 4.00 again this season.

Baltimore has faired somewhat better via the international route, with Koji Uehara has become one of the better relievers in baseball and Miguel Gonzalez has revived his career in the Orioles rotation. But the club also struck out with Asian imports Suk-min Yoon and Tsuyoshi Wada. Though like Arrieta, Wada has since joined the Chicago Cubs and found some success.

Pitching prospects are always hit or miss, though it seems like no club in the last six or seven years has managed to miss with so many promising arms. While it could just be one of the most widespread cases of bad luck baseball has seen in the last decade, it seems that the more likely case is that the Orioles have a serious problem with pitching development. And while early call-ups and undefined roles seem to be playing a major part in the problem, even the team’s younger pitchers in the mid- and low minors seem to be experiencing similar difficulties. Baltimore

With the 2015 Blue Jays being and exception, dominant American League East teams have almost always had viable pitching to accompany their dynamic offenses. The Orioles spent over a decade in AL East irrelevancy, and have just recently found themselves back in the mix over the last few seasons. But if they want to stay there, they need to find the root of their pitching problem and they need to find it fast.