You know... something i hadn't really considered until just now is the impact Arrieta could have off the field. It's no secret that the cubs are gonna need some break throughs with their young arms. Arrieta seems like a real good guy to help them because he was a former 5th round pick who eventually elevated into top 100 prospect in 2009/10. But he also really struggled when he came up for baltimore.
So, when you consider that Alzolay and Marquez are likely to see some MLB time this year, having a guy who's been where they are and who's worked through struggles could be invaluable to them.
Ya that is happening already. Alozay has been working on breaking ball grips and release points with Jake.
The thing with Jake is is he has been injured:
“The last three years weren’t to my expectations,” Arrieta said Saturday in a Zoom call with reporters. “I had to deal with several physical setbacks. The
meniscus [tear] that I pitched through all of 2018, which was tough, but I didn’t want to have surgery during the season. And then in ’19, I ultimately had to have bone spurs taken out of my elbow again. So there were some slight physical limitations, but having said that, I didn’t perform the way I was capable of.
I believe if healthy he is not going to be the same guy because he is not hitting 96-98 MPH any more. But 92-93 should be his avg velocity and that is doable as long as he locates and is able to tunnel his pitches well. IE same release points for his pitches.
But taking last year as a cause/effect having David running the staff more than anything. Last year the staff was wracked with injury and it led the Cubs to a play off birth with no O to support it. The reality is David is great for the catchers in creating game plans for the staff. All the staff needs to focus on is excution of their pitches.