Astros Star Does Something in August Only One Other Rookie Has Ever Done

The Houston Astros star has put together a prolific month of August that only one other rookie pitcher has ever done.

Aug 22, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (41) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Once looking like the Houston Astros were in the driver's seat coming down the final stretch of the year, the Seattle Mariners have gotten hot all of a sudden following their decision to fire manager Scott Servais.

Facing the possibility of being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, they handed the ball to their star rookie Spencer Arrighetti with the hope he could quiet the star-studded opposing offense and allow their own lineup to heat up.

Not only did the 24-year-old go out and provide a quality start, he almost threw his first career no-hitter.

Taking his no-no into the eighth inning, Arrighetti saw his bid for history end on an infield single against the very first batter of the frame. His outing ended three at-bats later when he gave up his second hit of the game.

If the youngster had been at home, he certainly would have been met with raucous applause.

Instead, he silenced a crowd that had largely thinned out because he allowed his offense to cruise to a 10-0 lead at the time of his removal.

Arrighetti entered this season regarded as one of the Astros' top prospects, and when he was thrust into action because of multiple starting pitching injuries the team had suffered, he clearly was overwhelmed when facing this level of hitting.

After two starts where he gave up nine runs on 11 hits in just 11 total innings of work, Houston sent him back down the minors.

However, the injury bug bit the Astros again, and they were forced to call back up the youngster.

Largely out of necessity, they gave him the opportunity to pitch through his mistakes, and that has now paid off in a massive way.

Arrighetti has been great since the All-Star break with a 2.84 ERA across his seven starts, limiting opposing lineups to a .188 batting average and striking out 58 batters in 44.1 innings pitched.

While those numbers are impressive, his month of August has been historic.

In August, Spencer Arrighetti of the @astros has 47 strikeouts while allowing 19 hits.

In the modern era, the only other MLB rookie to have that many Ks while allowing so few hits in a calendar month is Kerry Wood in May 1998 (60 K, 19 hits). pic.twitter.com/yuduXEPw1i

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 28, 2024

The sixth round pick of the 2021 draft has completely dominated teams he is facing.

There was always some hope he could turn into this type of pitcher, but based on his minor league numbers that were largely inflated compared to other top prospects around the league, it wasn't a given he would ever perform the way he has in the second half of the year.

Now, Arrighetti looks like a real piece of Houston's future, and based on him doing something that Kerry Wood did back when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1998, there's a chance he could be special.