Development of Langeliers, Muller offers hope for A's future

BALTIMORE -- Over the past two winters, the A’s have overhauled their roster with a flurry of trades, infusing young talent into the organization that will get a long leash to develop at the big league level in 2023. The best example is their Opening Day battery: Kyle Muller and Shea Langeliers, the headliners of those deals on the Oakland side whom the A’s hope develop into stars on the mound and behind the plate for years to come.

This will be something of a development year for both sides of that battery, full of both good nights and growing pains as the A’s navigate another rebuilding season.

So it was Tuesday, when both provided excellent flashes amid an ugly 12-8 loss to the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Langeliers’ fifth-inning three-run homer paced the offense on a night it broke out against uber-prospect Grayson Rodriguez, while Muller endured an uneven start before the bullpen faltered to stretch Oakland’s losing streak to six games.

“We battled tonight,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We were behind, we were ahead, we had the lead. Ultimately, just couldn’t hold it down. You kind of tip your cap to their offense. They also grinded and came back from being down, so, overall, it's a tough game to lose for us.”

The A’s were ahead as the fifth in large part because of Langeliers, whose 417-foot shot off Austin Voth and over Camden Yards’ tall left field wall handed Muller a four-run cushion. But Muller gave most of it back in the bottom of the frame, allowing two hits and the first of Ryan Mountcastle’s two homers in an eventual nine-RBI night for the Orioles' first baseman.

Ultimately charged with six runs in four-plus innings, it was the first time in three starts this season the 25-year-old left-hander did not complete at least five innings.

“I thought Kyle did a good job,” Kotsay said. “He got into the fifth but he had to work really hard to get into the fifth. Pitched out of some trouble. That was a big inning with the four-run lead, getting him out there. You want to see him get through that, but … we still were confident in the results that we got.”

Asked to evaluate his performance, Muller was more harsh.

“Terrible,” Muller said. “It was terrible. We showed up as an offense. Every chance I had to shut down the momentum, I didn't. We'd score and then I let them score. Those are the most important innings as a pitcher. We're finally getting it going and I just couldn't do my job.”

He will have other chances. A top prospect for years in the Braves' system, Muller was the prize of the A’s return in the three-team, nine-player swap they maneuvered with Atlanta and the Brewers for Sean Murphy in December. Langeliers also came from Atlanta, the top prospect in the four-player package the A’s received for Matt Olson in March 2022. After a solid 40-game debut offensively down the stretch last summer, he’s hit .222 with two homers and a .652 OPS in 10 games so far this season.

“Shea has been battling, working through some things,” Kotsay said. “He has hit two big homers. He put a good swing on the ball and a good pitch, and so yeah, that's a positive.”

For the A’s and their young players, perhaps it is a sign of things to come. Short-term, getting Langeliers hot and Muller on track would certainly help a club that’s been outscored 89-36 over its first 11 games. How they develop over the course of the season will be one of the A’s most important storylines of 2023.

“I think we turned the page from last night's game and came out and swung the bats well and played good, hard-nosed baseball for nine innings," Kotsay said. “You look at the at-bats in the ninth, and it wasn't as if we turned it in. These guys have shown that grit, which is a good sign.”