The Athletics are calling up top pitching prospect Gage Jump, but will he pitch against Seattle?
The Seattle Mariners beat the Athletics 9-2 on Monday night to pull within 1.5 games of first place in the American League West.
At 26-29, the M's haven't played all that well through 55 games, but they have a chance to make further in roads in the division over the next two games against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
Unfortunately for Seattle, Tuesday's assignment might have just gotten harder. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the A's are calling up top pitching prospect Gage Jump. His fastball hits 97 mph and he's struck out 56 hitters in 38 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
As of this posting, there's no word that Jump is pitching on Tuesday, but it would make sense. He's pitched every sixth day all season, with his last start coming on May 20.
More on Jump
Ranked as the No. 41 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Jump was selected with the No. 73 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of LSU. In addition to his high-octane fastball, he also has a cutting slider and a slurve.
He's 0-2 this season at Triple-A with a 4.50 ERA, so it's not like he can't be hit, but he's coming off an outing in which he went seven scoreless innings. Opponents are hitting .254 against him.
Why this could be tough for the Mariners
It's fairly obvious on all counts.
1) The Mariners are the worst team in baseball against left-handed pitching. The M's are hitting .190 as a team vs. southpaws, and they also feature a league-worst .277 on-base percentage. They have a league-worst .592 OPS against lefties as well.
Rob Refsnyder, signed to hit left-handed pitching, is hitting just .101 in total.
While there's no guarantee that Refsnyder will continue to see these opportunities, the hope will be that he is able to get going and be the player that the M's signed in the offseason.
Victor Robles, also part of the team's plans against lefties, is now back from the injured list. Patrick Wisdom is also on the roster and could see opportunities.
2) The Mariners have never seen Jump before. While not everyone thinks that familiarity is key, a lack of familiarity can certainly impact how a team reacts to a new pitcher. Anecdotally speaking, Mariners fans are used to the team struggling against pitchers making their major league debuts.
It often takes at least a full time through the order for a team to get a rid on a guy, and by that point, it could be too late.
What the M's can hope for
The best way to get on a young pitcher is to take advantage of their nerves and anxiousness. Will Jump be amped up and have control issues early? Will be hang a breaking ball?
These are the things you have to be able to do against a pitcher making his first major league start. We'll see just exactly when that is.
The M's and A's will play at 6:40 p.m. PT. Emerson Hancock is on the mound for Seattle.
Of note
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