A's GM on the Emergence of Jacob Lopez

The Athletics made a big deal to improve their starting rotation last December, but at the time of the trade, the focus was all centered around veteran Jeffrey Springs. Now that we're halfway through August, you could make the argument that Jacob Lopez may have been the centerpiece of that deal, even with Springs being the starter the A's were hoping for.

Lopez is on quite the run of late, having gone four straight starts without allowing a single run to cross the plate, while dropping his ERA on the year to 3.30. In that span, he's totaled 24 innings, giving up 14 hits, walked six, and struck out 28. Two starts ago we mentioned that he was beginning to look like a Cy Young contender in the future, and he's responded by just eating up the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays.

On A's Cast earlier this week, A's GM David Forst was asked about the expectations for Lopez when he was included in the trade with the Rays during the offseason.

David Forst on Jacob Lopez

"We talked about Jacob as a starter from the moment we made the trade. Another guy that came up, relieved, had a really good start and went back down [to Triple-A]. It's never just a straight line for any of this. Particularly for guys without a lot of big-league time under their belts.

"Jacob has come up, and every time he goes out now, we feel like he's got a chance, if he throws enough strikes, to get deep in the game. We saw what happens when he's not in the zone and his pitch count is up in the 80s and 90s in the fourth or fifth inning. But when he pounds the zone, he's got a chance to go six and seven innings and get some swings and misses along the way."