Although the right-hander was optioned to Triple-A, there are reasons to be optimistic following his brief debut.
By Statcast classifications, Spencer Arrighetti has thrown six types of pitches in his first seven major league innings, in descending order by usage rates: Four-seam fastball (38.6%), cutter (25.9%), sweeper (18.7%), curveball (10.8%), slider (3.6%), and changeup (2.4%). His six sliders thus far could’ve also been intended as a sweeper or cutter, but the captured movement profile triggered the original Statcast classification. In any case, we’ve seen all of Arrighetti’s pitches as advertised during his time in the minors.
Of course, Arrighetti’s first start against the Royals didn’t proceed according to plan. He was essentially BABIP’d into defeat, with an average exit velocity of 84.2 MPH. Sure, he allowed two doubles, but it wasn’t like Kansas City was blistering the ball, with those extra-base hits possessing an exit velocity of 92.4 and 81.4 MPH, respectively. But baseball is a results-based game and Arrighetti’s debut didn’t help right the ship.
I was curious entering his start against the Braves on Monday about how Arrighetti would respond. As David Laurila of FanGraphs noted earlier this month during his interview with the right-hander, “Analytics is Arrighetti’s second language.” Plenty of consideration goes into his pitches and how to make each of those offerings work. What adjustments, if any, were going to take place? What does he still have to work on? While I don’t want to discount the Royals, the Braves are a different test offensively with one of the best lineups in baseball which includes the reigning NL MVP.
Ultimately, this most recent start was a better experience albeit still inefficient, with Arrighetti limiting Atlanta to two runs across four innings, striking out five and walking two on 87 pitches. The game likely have unfolded differently if Jeremy Peña avoided his third-inning error and if José Abreu had made a challenging scoop. However, Arrighetti’s inability to put the opposing batter away has also been an issue, throwing 39 pitches in two strike counts against Atlanta. 17 of those two strike pitches were to Ronald Acuña Jr., the reigning NL MVP, but you get the point. But it was during that fourth inning which caught my attention, specifically Arrighetti’s last pitch of the game, a cutter to strike out Acuña Jr.
Arrighetti threw predominatly his four-seam fastball in those two-strike counts, roughly around 51%. His cutter was second at nearly 18%. Although his cutter hasn’t graded out well according to Stuff+ (64) in a limited sample thus far, its 129% break against the average in terms of horizontal movement stands out. Depending on the respective profiles, a cutter is actually a fine complement to a four-seam fastball or slider. Arrighetti throws a sweeper in place of the usual slider with some vertical break and his four-seam does have a flat approach angle. In other words, there is a difference in those pitch profiles. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Arrighetti’s top three pitches based on usage are his four-seam, cutter, and sweeper, or roughly 83% of his total usage rate.
Considering how the pitches could possibly play off each other, I am curious to see which ultimately becomes the preferred putaway offering. The cutter certainly has potential as he did pick up seven of 15 whiffs with it against the Braves. It also covers the gaps in his pitch movement and release point between his four-seam and sweeper, which could help in keeping opposing batters off balance.
While Arrighetti’s initial big league debut didn’t last long, the 24-year-old flashed enough potential to remain excited, even if the positive results weren’t initially present. There is still lots to like about his profile and I curious to see what adjustments he makes. His cutter, in particular, is an interesting pitch to monitor in the future.