San Diego Padres Star's First Strikeout of 2025 is Must-See

As you can see, the pitch that Sterner throws is so nasty that it actually hits Arraez as he's swinging, which, by the rules, negates the hit-by-pitch.

Of course this is how his first strikeout of 2025 would have to come, because pitchers weren't going to get him while throwing anything that didn't bend like Beckham.

For what it's worth, and maybe you can tell from the replay, Sterner has some of the nastiest stuff on the club. According to Stuff+ over at FanGraphs, his fastball rates as a 129 (100 is league average), the best on the club, while his slider is a 146, which ranks fourth on the club. He also works with a cutter that rates below league average at a 90.

So how was this guy available on waivers this offseason?

The simple answer is that his Location+, or command, rates well below league average at 69. That said, he's been extremely effective for the Athletics this season, tossing 6.2 innings of scoreless ball. He also hasn't allowed an inherited runner to score, so he's just not allowing anyone to cross home while he's on the mound.

The longer explanation for why he was available is likely because he's a 28-year-old that had four innings in the big leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays coming into this season. The Rays are a pitching factory, and had a little bit of a roster crunch, which made Sterner available.

One of the A's biggest strengths over the years has been their ability to just give guys a chance, while feeding them playing time. Sometimes it doesn't work out, in which case the cost of acquisition wasn't terribly high, but sometimes you run into the face of the franchise in Brent Rooker.

While Luis Arraez is going to strike out a couple dozen times this season, not everyone has the tools in the toolbox to get him to chase a pitch that's not even in the strike zone, let alone get him to commit on a pitch that ends up hitting him for strike three. That's an impressive feat, given the batter in the box.

We're still very early into Sterner's first real chance in the big leagues, but the early returns have been terrific. In those 6.2 innings of work, he's given up three hits, walked four, and struck out 11. His batting average against is just .136, and his WHIP is a solid 1.05.

Sterner still hasn't allowed an earned run since putting on the green and gold, dating back to spring training. In camp, he tossed 12 scoreless frames for the A's, giving up five hits and striking out 17.