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10 pitchers who have surprised in 2015

By Jason Evans

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Aug 30, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) reacts after thawing his final pitch of the ninth inning for a no hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Cubs won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) reacts after thawing his final pitch of the ninth inning for a no hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Cubs won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Jake Arrieta

Quick, who leads the majors in wins, is second in ERA, second in FIP, and 13th in K/9 ratio. Not Clayton Kershaw. Not Madison Bumgarner. Not Felix Hernandez or Chris Sale. It’s Jake Arrieta. Not bad for a throw-in in a deadline deal no?

Arrieta broke out last season winning 10 games including going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA during the final month of the season.

Arrieta was a former fifth round pick of the Orioles and one of their top prospects. He and Zach Britton were supposed to carry the O’s rotation for years. Britton became the closer and Arrieta became a part of a trade with Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger in 2013.

Strop is one of the Cubs top setup men and Arrieta has emerged among the top starting pitchers in the game. The icing on the cake was his recent no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jon Lester was brought in to be the ace of the staff but that role may now be in Arrieta’s hands. The Cubs are in great position to make the playoffs for the first time in a long time. The would be in the Wild Card game, and Arrieta could be the guy on the mound in Pittsburgh trying to help the Cubs advance to the division series.

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