Jake Arrieta
Arrieta's transformation from Baltimore afterthought to Chicago ace remains one of the decade's most dramatic pitching makeovers. After posting a 5.46 ERA across four forgettable seasons with the Orioles, he became virtually unhittable following his 2013 trade to the Cubs. His 2015 Cy Young campaign featured that microscopic 1.77 ERA and a no-hitter streak that captivated baseball.
The right-hander's peak was brief but spectacular. From 2014-2016, he went 56-23 with a 2.53 ERA, anchoring Chicago's World Series run. His four-seam fastball sat in the mid-90s, but the real weapon was a devastating slider that made hitters look foolish. That Silver Slugger award wasn't a fluke either — few pitchers combined his mound dominance with legitimate hitting ability.
By 2018, the magic had faded. Arrieta's final seasons in Philadelphia and San Diego were marked by declining velocity and effectiveness, a reminder of how quickly elite pitching can deteriorate.
Career · Hitting
12 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | BAL | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | 34 |
| 2011 | BAL | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .500 | 69 |
| 2012 | BAL | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | 35 |
| 2013 | CHC | 14 | 15 | 0 | 2 | .133 | .267 | 37 |
| 2014 | CHC | 26 | 39 | 0 | 3 | .179 | .502 | 72 |
| 2015 | CHC | 33 | 79 | 2 | 2 | .152 | .428 | 59 |
| 2016 | CHC | 31 | 65 | 2 | 7 | .262 | .720 | 97 |
| 2017 | CHC | 32 | 61 | 1 | 5 | .131 | .358 | 48 |
| 2018 | PHI | 31 | 45 | 1 | 3 | .133 | .388 | 53 |
| 2019 | PHI | 24 | 45 | 0 | 4 | .156 | .352 | 46 |
| 2020 | PHI | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | CHC | 25 | 23 | 0 | 0 | .130 | .361 | 50 |
| Career | 289 | 382 | 6 | 27 | .165 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
12 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | BAL | 18 | 100.3 | 6 | 6 | 4.66 | 87 | 52 | 1.535 |
| 2011 | BAL | 22 | 119.3 | 10 | 8 | 5.05 | 78 | 93 | 1.458 |
| 2012 | BAL | 24 | 114.7 | 3 | 9 | 6.20 | 65 | 109 | 1.369 |
| 2013 | CHC | 14 | 75.3 | 5 | 4 | 4.78 | 81 | 60 | 1.327 |
| 2014 | CHC | 25 | 156.7 | 10 | 5 | 2.53 | 148 | 167 | 0.989 |
| 2015 | CHC | 33 | 229.0 | 22 | 6 | 1.77 | 223 | 236 | 0.865 |
| 2016 | CHC | 31 | 197.3 | 18 | 8 | 3.10 | 135 | 190 | 1.084 |
| 2017 | CHC | 30 | 168.3 | 14 | 10 | 3.53 | 123 | 163 | 1.218 |
| 2018 | PHI | 31 | 172.7 | 10 | 11 | 3.96 | 105 | 138 | 1.286 |
| 2019 | PHI | 24 | 135.7 | 8 | 8 | 4.64 | 97 | 110 | 1.474 |
| 2020 | PHI | 9 | 44.3 | 4 | 4 | 5.08 | 87 | 32 | 1.511 |
| 2021 | CHC | 24 | 98.7 | 5 | 14 | 7.39 | 58 | 83 | 1.774 |
| Career | 285 | 1612.3 | 115 | 93 | — | — | 1433 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.