During the past couple of weeks we’ve seen several players across the Chicago Cubs minor league system get promoted to a higher level and 21-year-old right-hander Michael Arias had one of the better showings early on in his South Bend Cubs debut Friday night.
Arias, who is in his first full season in pro ball in the United States, was promoted to Advanced A-Ball earlier this week after he dominated low A-Ball with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. In his 11 starts with Myrtle Beach, the hard-throwing righty struck out 64 batters in 42.1 innings and recorded a 2.55 ERA. His last three starts for the Pelicans were ridiculously good, as Arias allowed just one run in 14.2 IP, striking out 21 batters, while giving up a total of three base hits.
On Friday night, Arias took the mound for the first time in a South Bend Cubs uniform on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp and he didn’t miss a beat to begin his debut. The starter struck out the side in the first inning, getting the first three hitters to whiff at strike three.
The young pitcher was sitting at mid-to-high 90s with his fastball and touched 100mph according to the broadcast. After three innings, Arias racked up six strikeouts, retiring all nine batters in order.
In the fourth inning, Arias was finally hit, as Beloit recorded two singles off the young right-hander. However, he worked around the trouble and escaped any damage with his seventh strikeout of the game.
By the start of the fifth inning, Arias had only thrown 49 pitches, as he was making quick work of Beloit hitters. However, as is the case with several pitchers, the opposition adjusted and they did get to Arias the second time through the lineup.
Arias labored through the fifth inning and could only record one out after allowing four runs on six hits, which included a two-run home run.
Obviously, a teaching moment for Arias, who is still relatively early in his pitching development despite his age and recent rise within the Cubs system. When the Cubs signed him a few years ago, Arias was a shortstop, who was in the Toronto Blue Jays system for a few years as a teenager after signing as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic.
Prior to this season, Arias had thrown a total of 40.1 innings in the DSL, ACL and in low A-Ball. The stuff is certainly electric though and Arias should definitely be on your radar in the next few years because with some more development, it’s easy to see why he can become a stud in the majors.
