Spencer Zane Arrighetti (born January 2, 2000) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career

Arrighetti attended Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Navarro College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsicana ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

(TCU) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a freshman at TCU, Arrighetti made 16 appearances (1 start),

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

19 batters across 17

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. In 2020, Arrighetti transferred to Navarro College, where he made four starts, pitching to a 2–2

win-loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and 4.26

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 30 strikeouts. That same year, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Wisconsin Rapids Rafters The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a baseball team based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Rafters play home games at historic Witter Field. History The Rafters name was a ...

of the Northwoods League. As a junior, Arrighetti transferred to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 2021, he led the Ragin' Cajuns with 83.2 innings pitched, posting a 7–6 record with a 3.12 ERA and a team-high 91 strikeouts.

Professional career

Arrighetti was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

2021 Major League Baseball draft The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The ...

. He made his professional debut that same year with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Astros before being promoted to the Single-A

Fayetteville Woodpeckers The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

. Arrighetti started 2022 with the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Asheville Tourists before his promotion to the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Between the two clubs, he made 27 appearances (17 starts), posting a 7–6 record with a 4.73 ERA and 152 strikeouts over 106²⁄₃ innings. Arrighetti split the 2023 season between the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks and the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Following the season, Arrighetti was named the Houston Astros' 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Arrighetti began the 2024 season with Triple-A Sugar Land where he made two starts, posting a 2.16 ERA in 8¹⁄₃ innings. The Astros promoted Arrighetti to the major leagues on April 10,

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

, and he made his major league debut that night. He allowed seven runs across three innings and struck out three batters against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. On August 4, 2024, Arrighetti struck out 12 batters in the 1–0 loss to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. In his next start, against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, he struck out a career-high 13 batters across seven innings in the 5–4 win. Those performances made Arrighetti the first rookie in

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) history to strike out 12 batters each in consecutive starts.

References

External links

2001 births Living people American people of Italian descent Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Albuquerque, New Mexico Baseball players from Katy, Texas Corpus Christi Hooks players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Florida Complex League Astros players Houston Astros players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Navarro Bulldogs baseball players Sugar Land Space Cowboys players TCU Horned Frogs baseball players {{US-baseball-pitcher-stub