A's top pitching prospect duo Arnold, Jump turn in best outings of '26
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The Athletics have handed out a considerable chunk of change to key position players in the past few years, establishing a group that will make up the core of clubs for years to come.
But as lineup stalwarts Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom have been stamped as part of the future, it begs the question: Who will lead the pitching staff alongside them?
Call Wednesday night Exhibit A for what the A’s hope the top of that rotation looks like for years to come: Jamie Arnold, the club’s 2025 first-round pick and No. 2 prospect, spun 3 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in Double-A Midland’s 9-2 win over San Antonio at Momentum Bank Ballpark and Gage Jump, the No. 3 prospect, racked up eight strikeouts across 4 1/3 frames in Triple-A Las Vegas’ 8-5 victory over Reno at Greater Nevada Field.
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Arnold has been tossed into the proverbial deep end in pro ball, landing in the hitter-friendly Double-A Texas League after the club selected him 11th overall out of Florida State last July. He faced stout lineups his first two times out and took his lumps, but the tide turned on Wednesday. Arnold ultimately retained the strike-heavy approach that made him one of college baseball’s top pitchers for two years running -- in his first three starts combined, he’s walked just four of the 59 batters he’s faced.
Entering the night, MLB's No. 36 prospect had the bad luck of running a .462 BABIP, which when combined with a high ground-ball rate (57.1 percent) and low flyball rate (14.3 percent), indicated a turn was coming.
It’s not as though the hitting environs get any easier while climbing the A’s Minor League ladder. Just ask Jump, who opened this season in the Pacific Coast League, the circuit known as a bastion of offensive output. But through three starts, Jump has held his ground and allowed only three earned runs, good for a 2.61 ERA.
His latest start was particularly challenging as he faced Reno's all right-handed-hitting lineup of D-backs prospects. But his slider was devastating, accounting for five of eight punchouts and getting whiffs eight of the 12 times he threw it. Also encouraging: MLB's No. 51 prospect threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of 18 batters and maintained his average fastball velocity at 95 mph from the first inning into the fifth.
Arnold and Jump find themselves both among MLB’s top 10 left-handed pitching prospects, joining Miami’s Thomas White and Robby Snelling as the only organization mates on the list. Ken Waldichuk (2023) ranked as the A’s No. 2 overall prospect entering the year, but not since the duo of Jesús Luzardo and A.J. Puk held down the top two spots prior to 2019 has the club had such a highly touted one-two southpaw punch.
Both young hurlers were impressive during their run through the Cactus League this spring.
“He’s got the weapons to pitch in the big leagues,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Jump in March.
And all it took was a live batting practice session for infielder Darell Hernaiz to give Arnold his stamp of approval.
“I have a great deal of confidence that he’s going to show everybody what he’s about,” he told MLB.com. “I’m sure he’ll be in the big leagues sometime soon.”