The A’s took their second straight pitcher in the draft, selecting Arkansas right-hander Gabe Gaeckle with their Competitive Balance B pick:
The righty had one of the best fastballs in college this past season but has battled control issues with every pitch in his repertoire, which include an above-average slider, as well as a curveball and changeup. The A’s will surely test him out
as a starter in the lower minors and see if he can make it work, but if not then a high-end reliever isn’t the worst find in this range of the draft. We’ll see how long it takes the 21-year-old to climb the ladder.
Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about the newest Athletics prospect:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
Though he was a 6-foot right-hander who had Tommy John surgery when he was 15, Gaeckle had the live arm to go in the first five rounds of the 2023 Draft. He fell to the Reds in the 20th round because of his commitment to Arkansas, where he starred as a freshman reliever but posted a 6.69 ERA in nine starts last spring before heading back to the bullpen. A potential first-rounder for 2026, he now fits more in the third round after another unsuccessful stint in the rotation.
As a shorter righty with electric stuff, Gaeckle at his best reminds some scouts of former Razorbacks teammate Gage Wood, who went 26th overall to the Phillies last July, and others of Spencer Strider. When he’s on, he owns one of the most unhittable fastballs in the college ranks, sitting at 94-96 mph and touching 98 with a low release height and quality carry. He also can overpower hitters with a tight mid-80s slider and miss bats at times with both a low-80s curveball and upper-80s changeup.
A veteran of two summers with the U.S. collegiate national team, Gaeckle maintained his velocity as a starter but battles with command and a lack of deception led him to get hit harder than expected. Those weren’t issues in the second half of his sophomore season when he worked extended outings from the bullpen, including dominating eventual national champion Louisiana State with 14 strikeouts in nine innings over two matchups at the College World Series, but he hasn’t been nearly as good out of the bullpen this spring. He has struggled to locate his fastball and his in-zone whiff rates on all of his pitches have regressed, making it difficult to continue to project him fitting in the front half of a rotation.
How would you guys grade this pick? Discuss!
