A's Sign First Rounder Jamie Arnold Out of FSU

The $5,985,100 contract is the full slot value for the 11th overall pick, and the deal that second-rounder Devin Taylor signed ($2.5 million) is roughly $500,000 over-slot, so the A's will have to save some money later in the draft in order to ink all of their draft picks.

Arnold is a huge piece for the A's to grab, as they have been struggling on the mound all season. Baseball America's rankings have Gage Jump, Arnold, Jack Perkins, and Luis Morales as the top four prospects in the A's system, and all four of them are starting pitchers.

Perkins is already with the A's, while Morales is in Triple-A, Jump is in Double-A waiting for a promotion, and Arnold could move quickly through the system. Reinforcements are certainly on the way for the big-league club, and could have some influence on how the club approaches the trade deadline next week.

The new A's left-hander has been compared to Chris Sale in the past, and he can hit the upper 90's with his heater. He throws strikes, which is a trait the A's are always looking for, and has three plus pitches.

The team has not made the signing official, but he will likely be in West Sacramento at some point next week to do his brief media tour before venturing out to start his pro career. It's unclear where the A's will have him begin that journey, once he reaches a full-season affiliate.

Being an advanced arm, they could forgo having him start in Lo-A Stockton, given that the level may not be challenging enough for a well regarded college arm. That could lead to him beginning in Hi-A Lansing with the Lugnuts. If the A's really wanted to see what they have out of the gate and perhaps even set Arnold up for an MLB debut in 2026, they could get his feet wet in Double-A Midland.

This isn't the likely path, and the A's front office has said repeatedly that they leave it up to the players to tell them when they're ready through their play on the field. Dropping him in the upper minors to begin may not be how they want to go about things, But it could also be a useful tool for him to get some experience there as well.

If he were to go to Midland and dominate over a few starts, then the front office could be penciling him in at Triple-A Las Vegas early on in 2026. If he struggled, he'd know from experience what he'd need to work on to get better heading into the offseason.