The man who A-Rod and Tim McCarver think is named Brandon is off to a tremendous start. After eight innings of one-hit ball on Wednesday, he currently stands with a 2.34 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and a 30/7 K/BB ratio. Yes, the National League is treating him well.
Arroyo was set to open the year out of the bullpen before getting dealt from Boston. It was a trade the Red Sox supposedly promised wouldn’t happen. Since then, Arroyo has been pitching with a determination that has led to terrific results. It was evident immediately following the trade, as a motivated Arroyo fanned nine former Red Sox teammates in seven scoreless innings in his final exhibition start.
In his second regular season start, he shut out the Cubs in seven innings while facing a 17-MPH-wind blowing out, which led to six Reds homers; making it a downright impressive performance. Being a flyball pitcher in Great American Ball Park doesn’t seem like a great fit, but so far Arroyo’s mixture of breaking balls is playing nicely in the NL, especially the wicked slider.
Obviously, he’s pretty much pitching over his head thus far; he’s not going to morph into a top-20 fantasy pitcher or something. Still, with the Reds offense clicking and in a division that features the Pirates, a Derrek Lee-less Cubs, and a diminishing Cards lineup, wins could be coming in bunches. But don’t listen to me, take it from A-Rod himself: “Brandon is a great pitcher,” Rodriguez said. “I played against him in high school.”
Leave a Reply