MESA, Ariz. -- As soon as Nick Kurtz stepped onto the practice field with the Athletics last year for his first big league Spring Training, he was so advanced as a hitter that the sense around camp was that it would not be long until he debuted in the Majors.
One year later, a similar hype appears to be forming around Jamie Arnold.
Like Kurtz last spring, Arnold, rated MLB’s No. 41 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline and the A's No. 2 prospect following the 2025 season, enters his first big league camp as the A’s most recent first-round Draft pick, selected 11th overall last July out of Florida State.
Arnold is set to make his Cactus League debut on the road on Friday, in relief against the Royals. But before pitching in a game, the 21-year-old left-hander has already made a strong first impression on his teammates and coaches.
"He threw a live BP [Sunday] and looked really good,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I’d tell you to go talk to those guys who faced him. I think you’ll get a good report back.”
Darell Hernaiz was among the A’s players who stepped into the box against Arnold for that 20-pitch session, and he could back up Kotsay’s statement.
"Everything was coming out of the hand easy and explosive,” Hernaiz said. “That was pretty impressive.”
Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof were the other two hitters who faced Arnold, and the young southpaw more than held his own against Major League hitters.
"He made our guys look a little bit, I wouldn’t say bad,” Kotsay said. “But they took some bad swings.”
Hernaiz went into the live bullpen session expecting to see a fastball, slider and changeup -- the three pitches listed on Arnold’s scouting report. But the A’s infielder left the session befuddled after seeing perfectly spotted sinkers, cutters and kick-changes, new pitches that Arnold apparently decided to learn this offseason on his own.
"I didn’t know he had all that,” Hernaiz said. “He’s super young and he’s already adding pitches. It’s super impressive. His fastball ticks up, I think because of his angle. … I’m excited for him.”
Arnold’s angle is a funky arm slot that has garnered him some comparisons to Chris Sale. That, along with an advanced repertoire for a pitcher his age, is part of why many believe it might not be too long before he reaches the Majors.
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“I have a great deal of confidence that he’s going to show everybody what he’s about,” Hernaiz said. “I’m sure he’ll be in the big leagues sometime soon. He’s super polished, and it seems like he has a really good head on his shoulders.”
It’s hard not to compare the buzz surrounding Arnold this spring to Kurtz, the fourth overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, who began the 2025 season at Double-A Midland and earned his way to the big leagues with the A’s by late April after just 20 Minor League games.
Could Arnold take the Nick Kurtz path to The Show? At this point, the A’s have stopped trying to project how much Minor League time a top prospect needs before he's ready, considering what Kurtz and Jacob Wilson -- who also reached the big leagues just over a year after he was drafted as a first-rounder in 2023 -- have done.
First up for Arnold is to appear in his first spring game on Friday. Then, he’ll officially make his professional debut for one of the club’s Minor League affiliates once the regular season gets underway. Once that begins, his performance will dictate how quickly he ascends through the system.
Given the A’s need to improve on the pitching side to match a potent offense, that call might just come sooner rather than later for Arnold if he performs the way they believe he will.
"There were a lot of teams interested and talk about him getting drafted higher than where he landed with us,” Kotsay said. “There were also talks of Kurtz in a similar way. Maybe the stars will align again with Jamie having that type of success quickly.”