Elephant Rumblings: No Sophomore Slumps for these Guys!

SB Nation

On Sunday, Jared Greenspan of MLB.com ranked the Top 25 rookies performance for last year. The A’s had three sophomores make that list. The first two should be no surprise and Greenspan has them again

listed as one and two on the list just as the baseball writers did for the Rookie of the Year voting. The rest of the list did not really follow the ROY voting. Also making the list is A’s lefty hurler Jacob Lopez, coming in at number twenty-four. All three of these players should be mainstays in the A’s 2026 lineup with Lopez almost assuredly starting the year in the starting rotation.

Major League Baseball also released the results of the fourth annual MLB Pipeline Executive Poll. They survey front offices across the baseball world, including general managers, scouting directors, farm directors, and other talent evaluators regarding league prospects. One of the questions was to predict the rookies of the year in each league. The first year they correctly predicted Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll and Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson as the ROY recipients, but they have been off the mark each year since. While Nick Kurtz did get some votes, the “experts” selected BoSox outfielder Roman Anthony as the frontrunner to win the American League award.

This year, no A’s players make the top six ranging from 25% of the vote to 4.5% of all voters. Detroit shortstop Kevin McGonigle is tied for the lead with Trey Yesavage, the Toronto pitcher who made a name for himself in the 2025 World Series. But of the 14 American League prospects to make the list, there are three Athletics players receiving votes. They are Jamie Arnold, LHP; Leo De Vries, SS; and Gage Jump, LHP. These names are commonplace in A’s Nation columns but it’s interesting to note that they are top of mind for baseball execs throughout the league. While no one would be considered a lock to make the opening day roster, and it’s not out of the question that they don’t see much if any 2026 playing time, they are all highly ranked prospects with a bright future in the kelly-green and gold.

‘I’ll take Baseball History for $1,000, Will!’

This morning a good buddy of mine sent me this piece of baseball trivia, so I thought I’d share. While he’s fledgling baseball fan he knows that I’m quite passionate about the national pastime. Despite attending MLB games since 1969 and hearing this song hundreds of times over the years, I’m somewhat ashamed to say I didn’t know the origin. So maybe some of you will be enlightened today also. The precise source is unknown, but the information is well documented.