Spring games are set to begin on Saturday afternoon, with the Oakland A's taking on the Colorado Rockies at 12:05. A good portion of A's fans will be at Fans Fest celebrating sports in Oakland, but for those unable to make it, there will be an actual baseball game taking place.
According to Martín Gallegos, the A's will be tossing out two rotation hopefuls for the opener in Joey Estes and Joe Boyle. There is an open competition for the fifth spot in the A's rotation this spring, with JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, Ross Stripling, and Alex Wood as the front four, but that last spot has a number of potential suitors.
Joe Boyle is one of the favorites to land in the A's rotation after coming up in September last season and dazzling in his three appearances. In 16 total innings, the right-hander held a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts against five free passes. He also held a WHIP well under one, at 0.81.
The key for Boyle's development will be to continue to showcase his improved command. Before he was traded to the A's in the Sam Moll deal last summer, Boyle was walking 19.4% of the batters he faced in Triple-A with the Reds. With the A's in Las Vegas, that went down to 16.7%, and then really took a dive when he came up to Oakland. With the A's he walked just 8.3% of hitters, which was slightly below league average (8.6%). Limiting those walks will determine when Boyle is back pitching in Oakland.
As for Estes, he was dinged by the dinger in his brief stint with the A's at the end of the year, giving up four homers in ten innings. On the bright side, he has shown an ability to command the ball well in his time in the minors, generally walking between 7-8% of batters at each stop on his path to the big leagues. That is definitely an attribute that the A's have been targeting this winter in the additions they've made to the roster. Last season the team just couldn't throw strikes consistently, so if Estes can find a way to limit the long ball in 2024, he should also get a look in Oakland yet again.
While both Estes and Boyle figure to be in the big leagues at some point this season, the Opening Day roster spot in the rotation may be Luis Medina's to lose. The right-hander was acquired as part of the Frankie Montas deal and made his MLB debut last season, posting a 5.42 ERA in 109 2/3 innings. The reason that the spot could belong to him is that he is out of minor league options heading into the 2024 season, which means that if he is sent down to the minors at any point, he would have to pass through waivers first before reporting.
It's hard to see Medina sneaking past 29 other teams on the waiver wire.
There will be opportunities for Boyle and Estes throughout the season, like when an injury occurs, or when Stripling and Wood get traded midseason, but to begin the year, it looks as though that fifth spot will be Medina's to lose. He'll still have to have a solid spring in order to officially secure that spot, but he's entering camp with a leg up.
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