Welcome to Tuesday everyone!
We were treated to some grade-A pitching last night from young right-hander J.T. Ginn. For eight innings the 26-year-old only allowed one walk while taking a no-hitter into the ninth. We’re going to ignore what happened in the final inning from last night’s game because we can.
That performance dropped Ginn’s season ERA to a nice 2.98 through 11 games. That number alone is good for ninth-best in the American League but his dominance goes deeper than that. One must remember
that Ginn didn’t even begin the season in the starting rotation, instead acting as a long man out of the bullpen for the first couple turns through the rotation. If we’re only looking at his starting appearances that number drops to 2.64 in eight starts.
Not a lot of people expected Ginn to take off quite like he has this year. In his first cup of coffee in 2024 he showed glimpses of what had the A’s so high on him. He had some bumps and bruises in his first extended action last year though, going from starter to reliever and back to starter again as a rookie. Not an easy situation for anyone to deal with, especially someone who is still trying to find their footing in the big leagues. Add on top of that Ginn allowing 17 runs in 16 innings of work this spring and no one would blame you for being caught off guard by Ginn’s ascent.
Since getting his shot he’s done what tons of pitchers in this league try and fail to accomplish: take advantage of their opportunity. Ginn could have very easily been a spot-starter had he struggled, with someone like Mason Barnett waiting in the wings for his own chance. Instead he’s relied on terrific command while keeping the ball in the ballpark. The strikeouts aren’t the name of his game as he’s instead relying on that heavy sinker to get the ground balls he wants. That’s especially useful in a hitter’s park like Sutter Health Park.
Going forward it’s good to be hopeful that Ginn has truly unlocked something and this isn’t just a hot streak. Every A’s fan was perfectly happy to let Ginn go for history tonight, pitch count be damned. That said, it may be prudent to keep a handle on his innings count going forward. Acquired in the trade that sent Chris Bassitt to New York, Ginn already has a Tommy John surgery on his ledger and he pitched a career-high 112 1/3 frames last year. He’s already departed one game earlier this year with “arm soreness”.
How high is the limit for Ginn? Scouts always believes he would, at best, settle in as a backend 4th/5th starter type but he’s making everyone rethink that calculus. And if he keeps this up he’s going to be in the rotation long-term, waiting for guys like Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold to hurry up and join him in the big league rotation.
Same time same place for tonight’s game. Have a great day A’s fans.
A’s Coverage:
- A’s Suffer Heartbreaker to Open Road Trip
- ‘Gut-wrenching’: Ginn takes no-no into ninth only to give up walk-off home run
- Athletics Outright Michael Stefanic
- A’s Bullpen, Defense Collapse in Series-Deciding Loss to Giants
- How John Fisher betrayed Oakland (again) by finally spending on the Athletics
- A’s Drop Saturday Contest To Giants 6-4
- Kurtz Blasts the A’s to a 5-2 Victory Over the Giants
- The Giants-A’s rivalry is officially dead
- A’s get lefty reliever Suarez in trade with Mariners
- Bolte Flashes In Athletics’ Win Over Cardinals
- Kurtz shakes off pain, crushes massive grand slam to lift A’s
- A’s roster moves: Bolte, Stefanic recalled; Wilson to IL; Harris optioned, Nuñez DFA’d
- There’s Forcing Your Way Up And There’s Bolte — Is There A Spot For Him?
- May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
- Athletics’ Wei-En Lin Continues Rising The Ranks
- Now that we’ve seen a two-way player, what about a three-way player?
- A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point
- Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In May
MLB News and Interest:
- Dodgers’ Glasnow has setback; Snell set for NanoScope procedure
- Yankees consider bringing ace Gerrit Cole back early
- Seager placed on injured list with lower back inflammation
- Houston Astros Activate Star Shortstop Jeremy Peña
- Jake Fraley To Undergo Sports Hernia Procedure
- Rangers’ MacKenzie Gore leaves with muscle tightness in back
- Kyle Teel Shut Down With LCL Sprain
- Nationals To Recall Dylan Crews
- Mets achieve rare extra-inning feat not seen in 43 years
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Injury updates!
Updated prospect list:
Stefanic heading down to Triple-A:
The streak continues:
It’s pretty good:
A’s great Gio Urshela riding off into the sunset:
