Arrieta proving historic second half was just a start

Conventional wisdom said that Jake Arrieta could not possibly repeat the historically great performance that he put up in the second half of the 2015 season.

So far in 2016, Arrieta is taking a big lead over conventional wisdom.

Arrieta was at the center of the Cubs’ 97-victory rebirth last season. He enjoyed a second half for the ages en route to winning the National League Cy Young Award. His 0.75 ERA after the All-Star break was the lowest by any pitcher since the Midsummer Classic was instituted in 1933.

On the surface, that appears to be the kind of thing that can’t be duplicated, closely imitated or otherwise repeated. But Arrieta appears to be on a very similar level in 2016.

Small sample size? Of course, but Arrieta has already established his credentials as a pitcher who can perform at an extraordinarily high level over an extended period of time. When we consider his numbers, the comparison is greatness vs. greatness.

His ERA in six starts this season is 0.84, just a tick above his second-half work in 2015.

His WHIP is 0.744 as opposed to .727 in the second half of 2015, when he gave up 4.6 hits per nine innings. This season, he has given up even fewer hits per nine (4.2).

There has been some erosion in Arrieta’s strikeout numbers. He averaged 9.5 K’s per nine innings after the All-Star break last season. This year, he is averaging 7.7 per nine innings. Thus, …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com