Our Own Supply

 

Going into this season, my greatest hope was that the Athletics would develop their own starting pitching assets. Because they're tried two different tactics that completely avoid those, and they didn't work. They first tried calling up other people's pitching prospects, and tried getting by with J.P. Sears, James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk, Frankie Montas and that ilk. This was not successful. So last year they started over and tried the other tactic, signing decent talent to pitch the big games and farming people under that. This hasn't worked either. Jeffrey Springs has been getting lit up all June for some reason [smirk], Severino strikes people out but can't keep runs down, Civale's a short term solution and the underneath guys from last season haven't made much of an impact. And again, I get why the A's have been so ashamed to bring up their own guys, because a lot of these guys haven't been turning out great in the majors. Joe Boyle was a misfire that's now struggling to stay healthy in Tampa. Joey Estes is very inconsistent. Brady Basso's been really ineffective. Even Luis Morales has struggled this year.

However...hope has arisen. There are two guys in this rotation who are homegrown [or at least were developed by the A's in some way], and they're the most integral starters right now. Finally. 

J.T. Ginn has been on the brink of legitimacy for a few years now, and I think he's finally breaking through. He was fine in a 2024 callup, struggled a bit last year despite some nice late starts, and now he's got a 2.91 ERA with a 1.164 WHIP, 68 Ks and a 2.7 WAR. He went from a rotation also-ran to the one sure bet for a while, and even at 27 he's showing some serious presence in this rotation. Also promising is recent draft pick Gage Jump, who's got a 2.37 ERA, 26 Ks and a 0.989 WHIP in his first five starts. Dude's 23 years old and clicking into place more than Springs, the veteran. This team also has Kade Morris back in the minors, and though he got killed his first start up he's still got a high ceiling. At some point, Henry Baez will be ready, and that will make things very interesting. 

It proves how much further the A's have come even in a year, and how close they are to really being a match in the AL.

Despite a rough week or so, the A's are at .500 and still in 2nd place, and have the offense to stay afloat for a while thanks to Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Zach Gelof. In addition, some new elements have been added, and are aiding this team tremendously. Henry Bolte is playing CF everyday and hitting .317 with 34 hits in 33 games, becoming the kind of fixture I figured Colby Thomas would be this year. Jonah Heim has been a really strong backup catcher in his return to the A's, with 5 homers and 8 RBIs in 21 games [and I know what you're thinking- Heim and a guy named Bolt? What is this, 2019??]. Jacob Wilson is healthy and back to his old contact tricks. And Alika Williams is doing more as a utility infielder here than he did in Pittsburgh for some reason. It's really cool how all of this is coming together.

Unfortunately, because of the pitching, it's not .500+ baseball right now, but it definitely could be, especially if Nick Kurtz keeps at it. I dunno if people are making Ryan Howard comparisons yet, but they absolutely should be.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy that's pitched five terrific seasons. Unfortunately only two of them have been consecutive.  

Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Athletics

 

It's extremely ironic that, in the first year of being stripped of their national identity and having to play in a minor league park in Sacramento without a credited city while they wait for their stadium in Las Vegas to be build, the Athletics finally formed a team identity for the first time since Fisher sold the farm in 2022. I can now tell you exactly who this team is, what they're trying to do and how far along they are. I couldn't tell you that during many of their last Oakland years. 

In 2025 alone, the Athletics reaped the benefits of two separate rookie stars, Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz, while getting 30+ homer years from veterans Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers and a 20-20-20 season from Lawrence Butler. Yes, they also dealt Mason Miller this year, but they got Leo de Vries in return for him, which is a very good thing. 

Does that mean every big piece is gonna hit the ground running immediately for the A's? No, not even remotely. Max Muncy was an April call-up that spent the majority of the season with the team, and did so without making much of an impact until far too late. Max Muncy, not to be confused with that other corner infield guy for the Dodgers. This reminds me of when the A's gave an Opening Day lineup spot to Kevin Smith, not to be confused with Kevan Smith the catcher, and Kevin Smith bowled an absolute gutterball in the majors. Muncy was...marginally better. At the very least he had 9 homers and 23 RBIs, but aside from a June run, he was mostly ineffective, and spent a lot of time in the minors.

2026 Prediction: Seeing as he will have competition at both 2nd and 3rd [see later in the post], he'll need to get into what prospectors have been talking about. I say he gets there, but I also think if the A's are gonna trade any of their infielders this offseason, it'd likely be him.

Denzel Clarke got a special award during Awards Week for the big 'web gem' of the year, which could have been any of his incredible catches in the outfield. The Toronto native may not have had the contact hitting part down during his rookie season, but his defense made him a crucial piece of the team's development. Even in games where the A's got embarrassed, I'd hear something insane Clarke did in center. He also stole 6 bases in 47 games, meaning if he gets a starting job next year, him and Butler could be a fun, speedy duo.

2026 Prediction: The A's wouldn't have released J.J. Bleday if they didn't think they had something in Clarke. I think if the A's build themselves up enough, they can use Clarke in the same way the Jays used Myles Straw this year, as a defensive substitution with the occasional contact perk. As for who'll get the majority of the offensive starts in center, uh...well, see a little below.

So...the wild idea Fisher had of getting Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs on contracts to start, uh...didn't really work. Springs flirted with greatness but was mostly fine. Sevvy struggled all year. Even J.P. Sears wound up getting dealt anyway. So a lot of local guys and scrubs had to start games for the A's, and one of the more prevalent ones was J.T. Ginn, who came up towards the end of last season. Ginn made 23 appearances, 16 of them starts, in 2025, and went 4-7 with a 5.08 ERA and, importantly, 99 Ks. The A's are gonna try to make sense of this rotation next year, with Jacob Lopez, Luis Morales and Gunnar Hoglund impressing in late months, and Ginn may be one of their most reliable rotation arms remaining.

2026 Prediction: A surprisingly great season that's a great audition for a better team to trade for him.

The Red Sox used Sean Newcomb as an Opening Day rotation guy this year, in case you've already forgotten. Because it's no longer 2018, that didn't especially work. So they cut him, and the A's picked Newcomb back up and used him, once again, in long relief. Somehow, this move led to Newcomb becoming one of the A's best relief pieces this year, posting a 1.75 ERA in 36 appearances, leading to a 1.7 WAR.

2026 Prediction: I actually think relief is the way to go. Somebody like the Reds or the Brewers is gonna pick him up and he's gonna be really useful. 

Two years ago, Zach Gelof was thought of as one of the foundational prospect pieces for the A's. He was brought up with Tyler Soderstrom, and was joined by Lawrence Butler some time later, and the idea was that they'd lead the team to greatness. Last year was...passable for Gelof, but he still led the league in strikeouts with 188. This year he missed almost the entirety of the year with injuries, and only made it up for 30 games, in which time he hit .174 with 46 more Ks. Either he's cooked or he's getting this out of his system.

2026 Prediction: Gelof will be higher in the depth chart than Muncy, and I think the A's will give him 2nd from the start, and some great games will follow. However, if he gets injured again I don't think the team will give him another chance.

The A's also had rookie Colby Thomas in the outfield mix, primarily in right field. Thomas seems like a decent piece, with some power perks, hitting .225 with 6 homers and 19 RBIs in 49 games. Thomas could be the missing piece to the outfield formula on offense, between Soderstrom and Butler.

2026 Prediction: Yeah, will get tons of starts at RF/CF with Bleday gone, will come into his own next year. Assuming the guys who broke out this year stay great, he could be a part of a great A's lineup next year.

Coming Tomorrow- Not sure if you heard, but the Blue Jays made a World Series this year. Here's a few people on that squad that I didn't get to during the year.