Chicago Cubs Skipper Joe Maddon Says Jake Arrieta‘s Decline in Velocity is no big deal.
Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta isn’t throwing quite as hard as he did this time last season, but manager Joe Maddon isn’t worried yet. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that Maddon believes that Arrieta’s recent propensity for allowing home runs stems from control issues, not a drop in velocity.
So far this season, Arrieta has posted a 2.96 ERA and struck out 176 batters. Opposing hitters are batting just .185 against him – the best mark in the National League. He’s also won 17 of his 29 games, earning a loss in just 7 starts.
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Worrying about Arrieta in the first place seems ridiculous, but his recent starts have been less than stellar. Over his last seven outings, he’s posted a 4.19 ERA and has been picked up by the Cubs’ offense. A lot of the damage stemmed from two particular bad outings in August, but opponents have scored three or more runs in each of his last four outings. He’s also given up seven home runs in that time span.
In addition to an increased amount of home runs, Arrieta has struggled to keep the ball in the strike zone. He’s walked 42 in his last 15 games, although that number is skewed by a start in mid-August, when he walked seven batters in one game.
Maddon told ESPN that this lack of control is the reason Arrieta dialed back his velocity, focusing on location instead:
"“He wanted to throttle back a little bit. He was more concerned with placement as opposed to overpowering hitters.”"
Maddon is certain that even with a decline in velocity of nearly two miles per hour, Arrieta will be fine. That doesn’t sound like much, but in baseball, that’s a huge difference. Luckily for Arrieta, his pitches rely on movement even more than velocity, and he’s not seen a decline in that department.
The Chicago Cubs’ skipper made a point of mentioning that when asked about the reason behind the reigning Cy Young winner’s recent struggles:
"“His ball moves unlike anyone else, his weaponry is unbelievably good. His fastball command has been off from my perspective.”"
With the playoffs just around the corner, Arrieta needs to fix his control issues as well. If he can do that, his decline in velocity shouldn’t hurt the Cubs’ chances of playing deep into October.
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Luckily for Chicago, they’ve already clinched their division. That means Arrieta should have plenty of time to figure things out before the start of the postseason. Maddon’s instinct to remain calm for now seems like the correct approach.