Joey Estes Reinstated From MiLB IL, Rejoins Las Vegas Aviators

When the Athletics traded Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves in 2022, many saw either outfielder Cristian Pache or catcher Shea Langeliers as the key piece of the deal headed back to Oakland. Pache is no longer with the club, and neither is Ryan Cusick, a right-hander that has been on his own journey through the minors this season.

That leaves 23-year-old righty Joey Estes as the other key piece of the deal these days, as he is not only still with the club, but has had success with the A's in the past.

This season he beat out Mitch Spence for the fifth and final spot in the A's Opening Day rotation, but after giving up six runs in back-to-back outings against the Cubs at home and the Rockies at Coors, he was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. On May 20 he was placed on the IL with an undisclosed injury, but on Saturday he was activated by the Aviators and may have just found a new role in the organization.

On Saturday, Estes came out of the bullpen and worked three scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and walking one. He also struck out three in the outing. With a number of A's pitching prospects on the rise through the minors, there is a chance that Estes may have dropped on the internal depth chart of the club.

Coming out of the 'pen, Estes' velocity was up across the board, with his four-seamer sitting at 92.9 miles per hour after he'd averaged 90.7 mph on it earlier in the year. His slider was also up two ticks, to 84.2 mph, while the four sinkers he threw gained three miles per hour, up to 92.7. The last pitch he threw in the game was a 93-mile-per-hour heater, so that bump held up through the outing, too.

Part of the reason Estes had struggled in his two starts with the A's to begin the season was because of a drop in velocity, losing two mph on his heater against the Cubs and Rockies (on cold game days). While this is a small sample size, this would appear to be a very encouraging sign in his development to have recovered that velo in a shorter three-inning stint.

The question now will be whether or not it appears in his next outing, and what role that will be in.

Of course, the Aviators now host Luis Morales, Jack Perkins, Mason Barnett, and Kade Morris, all four of whom have shown flashes this season and could could options for the A's to consider. They are all also ranked in the top-14 prospects of the A's top-30, according to MLB Pipeline.

Another big arm in the A's system, new No. 1 prospect Gage Jump out of LSU, is waiting his turn in Double-A Midland after being selected by the A's last year with the No. 73 overall selection.

We noted before the season that Estes may not be a fit for the A's rotation at Sutter Health Park, given his home/road splits while playing at the Oakland Coliseum and his propensity for fly balls, and in his first two outings he didn't necessarily prove those theories to be untrue. Yet, he was working with less velocity at the time, and his command just wasn't there in either outing.

Estes isn't a flamethrower, so he relies more on accuracy and staying in the zone in order to be effective. Last year he tossed a Maddux against the Los Angeles Angels, showing a bit of his ceiling as a starting pitcher.

His future with the organization was a little unclear after he was optioned back to Triple-A at the beginning of the season, but now that he is back and throwing where he's accustomed to being on the radar gun, that may open up the door for another shot on the A's roster, if an opportunity presents itself.

Estes has two options remaining, and is currently just one of two starting pitchers on the 40-man roster with Las Vegas, along with recently optioned Osvaldo Bido.