A’s right-hander option Joey Estes With yesterday’s promotion to Triple-A, the number of pitchers competing for a spot on the big league staff has decreased. Estes seemed a long way from making the club after being recalled to the majors for just 11 innings last year, posting a 5.51 ERA in 15 Triple-A starts (and two relief appearances). He pitched only 2 2/3 innings in official Cactus League games.
Estes, 24, joined with the A’s. Seer Langelius, Christian Pace and Ryan Cusick In trade shipping matt olson To Atlanta. Estes has now pitched over three major league seasons, but has a 5.51 ERA (in line with Triple-A last year) with a strikeout rate of just 16.3% in 148 1/3 big league innings. He’s an extreme fly ball pitcher who has good command (5.4% career walk rate) but doesn’t throw hard or miss the bat. Therefore, he was too vulnerable to home runs. Estes has been used primarily as a starting pitcher so far in his career, but now that he’s entering his final minor league option year, perhaps the A’s will be interested to see what he’ll look like in a bullpen role.
Entering camp, two spots were up for grabs in coach Mark Kotsay’s rotation. Kotsay acknowledged this when the pitcher and catcher reported: Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and free agent signees. Aaron Seabale Places were locked down and other places were cleared out of the camp. Right-handed pitcher who throws hard Luis Morales Although he hasn’t completely dominated this spring (16 hits, 8 runs in 12 innings, 10 strikeouts, 7 walks), MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos wrote that Morales is somewhat of a surefire figure in the rotation to start the season.
Morales’ mid-spring performance certainly wasn’t up to the mark, but he’s coming off a stellar rookie performance, posting 48 2/3 innings and a 3.14 ERA. He averaged 97.3 mph as a four-seamer and held opponents to a strikeout rate of 21.6% (albeit slightly below average) and a walk rate of 9%. Before his solid debut, he pitched in 23 games (14 starts) between Double-A and Triple-A, recording an ERA of 3.73, a strikeout rate of 29.2%, and a walk rate of 9.6%.
Morales still has three years of minor league options remaining, so if he underperforms badly in the final few weeks of camp or suffers a major setback early in the season, he could be sent off without having to clear waivers first. The A’s can control him for at least six seasons.
Gallegos writes that he is left-handed. Jacob Lopez This may be your favorite from the Kotsay staff’s fifth and final opening performance. The 28-year-old left-hander was acquired in the same deal that brought Springs to the A’s. Last year, he pitched 92.2 innings, had an ERA of 4.08, a strikeout rate of 28.3%, and a walk rate of 9.3%. Of his 21 games, 17 were starts.
Lopez’s play was slowed early in camp due to a forearm problem, but he made his spring debut a few days ago. It didn’t go particularly well (three runs in two innings), but he’ll be given two more weeks to show he can be trusted with a spot in the rotation to start the season. Lopez still has one year left on his minor league option, but the A’s would likely prefer not to burn it unless his performance is absolutely necessary.
One of the names that never sleeps: Top prospect gauge jump. The 22-year-old left-hander has yet to pitch in Triple-A, but Baseball America’s Ian Cundall writes that Jump has already seen his average fastball rise 1.6 mph this spring. He has a top speed of 96 mph and a top speed of 98.5 mph. This is an increase from last year’s average of 94.4 mph and maximum of 97 mph.
Jump, who turns 23 next month, was selected No. 73 in the 2024 draft. He dominated High-A and Double-A last season with a combined 112 2/3 frames, 3.28 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate, 41.8% ground ball rate, and 0.56 home runs per 9 frames. He is widely considered one of the top 100 overall prospects in the game, and more specifically, one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the sport.
Jump isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, but he won’t necessarily face stiff competition. His ceiling is as high or higher than anyone else in the Athletics’ rotation right now, and the last two spots haven’t been claimed in a convincing way. Jump pitched 6 2/3 innings in the spring, allowing two runs on five hits, three walks and four punches. The A’s technically don’t have to add him to the 40-man roster until the 2027-28 offseason (when they would have to select him to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft), but a 2026 debut seems likely as long as Jump can stay healthy and pick up where he left off last season. It would be somewhat surprising if he broke camp with the club, but doing so would potentially put the A’s in a position to select a future draft pick through MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive Program.
