What’s Behind Spencer Arrighetti’s Struggles With the Blue Jays?
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Spencer Arrighetti did not arrive at the Toronto Blue Jays in the best moment of his season.
After returning from the injured list and putting together an encouraging start between April and May, his story began to take a negative turn. The imposing pitcher we had seen go 7-1, leading the inconsistent Houston Astros starting rotation through his first eight starts with a 1.34 ERA and 3.98 FIP, began to suffer what has become a terrible regression.
During that first stretch, Arrighetti posted an 8.2 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 because of his continued struggles in long counts. But he was getting strikeouts and, more importantly, he was finding ways to solve situations under pressure. Part of that ability came from two of his main weapons, the curveball and the sweeper. He was avoiding hard contact and, above all, home runs.
His 198 opponents hit just two home runs in 47 innings during his first eight starts. Since late May, Arrighetti’s dominance has disappeared. Over his next 11 starts, he is 0-6. He has not won since May 28, when he held the Texas Rangers to one run over six innings.
His win-loss record is not the strength the Blue Jays were looking for at the trade deadline, but rather that dominant version of Arrighetti. Fewer pitches to get through his matchups against the lineup, more ability to generate strikeouts, avoid the hits that change the scoreboard and add durability sounded attractive for a team with offensive problems.
Since returning from the injured list, Arrighetti has become an enigma again. What is most concerning is how comfortable hitters are looking against his pitches. In six of his last eight outings, he has allowed at least one home run. Three of those games have included starts in which he allowed at least two home runs, and in a pair of games he gave up three: against the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers in his final two starts of June.
Arrighetti’s Fastball Has Become His Biggest Problem
Let’s start with what you cannot see in those graphics: 11 of the 14 home runs Arrighetti has allowed this season have come against his fastball. Nine of them came when the hitter was ahead in the count. His 35.4 Whiff% on breaking pitches has fallen to 16.8% when he throws his fastball. So the problem here goes beyond the home runs he has allowed, and it is perfectly illustrated in the zone graphic.
Arrighetti’s fastball has stopped being a threat and become a feast. There can be many factors in the conversation here. Maybe there is some movement that is giving hitters a tell, or the problem is more associated with a certain loss of horizontal movement on his four-seam fastball.
The truth is that, after two starts, while Arrighetti and the Blue Jays try to fix the problem, hitters continue to find ways to produce against his pitches. Toronto’s margin for error is getting smaller, so it is time for Arrighetti to start finding answers.
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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