by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
June 2, 2025
-RHP Luis Morales, considered by most to be the A’s top pitching prospect, was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas two weeks ago after putting up a 2.98 ERA over his first 8 starts for Double-A Midland this season. In his Triple-A debut, the 22-year-old Cuban righty threw 6 scoreless and hitless innings while issuing just 1 walk and striking out 7 to earn Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors. He surrendered 6 runs in 4 2/3 frames in his second start. But with vastly improved command, Morales has looked sharp in most of his starts this season. He’s averaged 11.2 K/9, and his 66 strikeouts are the second-most among all A’s minor league pitchers this season.
-RHP Kade Morris was acquired from the Mets in return for RHP Paul Blackburn last summer. The former 3rd-round pick was recently promoted to Las Vegas after posting a 2.79 ERA over his first 9 starts for Midland this season. In his Triple-A debut on Sunday, the 22-year-old righty allowed 3 runs through 5 1/3 frames. Morris has shown great command this season, issuing just 12 walks while notching 52 strikeouts over 57 combined innings of work for Midland and Las Vegas.
-RHP Jack Perkins started the season on the injured list but returned to action for Las Vegas on May 1. The 25-year-old righty is still ramping up his workload and working on improving his command, but his stuff has looked good. The former 5th-round pick has notched 39 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings, averaging 12.7 K/9 while posting a 4.23 ERA for the Aviators. And if Perkins can stay on track and stay healthy, he could find himself factoring into the A’s rotation options before long.
-RHP Mason Barnett looked impressive for Midland after being acquired from Kansas City in the Lucas Erceg trade last summer, posting a 2.61 ERA in 7 starts for the RockHounds, and the former 3rd-round pick was ranked by most evaluators as one of the A’s top pitching prospects in the offseason. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old righty got off to a rough start for Las Vegas in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. Barnett has put up a 6.39 ERA and allowed 9 home runs in 49 1/3 frames while showing unusually shaky command over his first 11 starts. But the good news is that the promising pitching prospect has looked a lot sharper lately, allowing just 2 runs in each of his last 2 starts for Las Vegas.
-LHP Gage Jump has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the A’s system this season. The A’s third overall pick last year was promoted to Midland three weeks ago after posting a 2.32 ERA over his first 6 games for Lansing. The 22-year-old southpaw has allowed just 2 runs in 25 innings of work, compiling a minuscule 0.72 ERA, over his first 4 starts for the RockHounds. Jump currently leads all A’s minor league pitchers with 74 strikeouts while averaging 11.9 K/9 this season.
-RHP Kyle Robinson is another member of last year’s draft class whose solid performance recently earned him a promotion to Midland. Last year’s 11th-round pick put up a 3.35 ERA over his first 8 games for Lansing. And the 21-year-old righty has allowed 4 runs while issuing just 1 walk and notching 12 strikeouts in 12 innings over his first pair of starts for the RockHounds.
-RHP Yunior Tur has been High-A Lansing’s top starter since Jump’s and Robinson’s recent promotions. The 25-year-old Cuban righty’s 2.98 ERA is currently good for sixth-best in the 12-team Midwest League. And most impressively, he’s surrendered just 2 home runs in 45 1/3 innings of work over 9 starts for the Lugnuts this season.
-RHP Steven Echavarria got off to a shaky start for Lansing this season, putting up a 7.62 ERA for the Lugnuts during the month of April. But 2023’s 3rd-round pick has really looked a lot more solid lately. The 19-year-old righty has allowed just 6 earned runs in 26 innings of work, compiling a 2.08 ERA, over his last 5 games for Lansing.
-RHP Nathan Dettmer is finally healthy after spending most of last season on Stockton’s injured list due to bone spurs. 2023’s 5th-round pick was recently promoted to Lansing after notching 31 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings while posting a 4.31 ERA for Stockton this season, and the A’s have high hopes for the hard-throwing 6-foot-4 righty.
-RHP Donny Troconis has proven to be the most consistent arm on Stockton’s impressive young pitching staff this season. The 19-year-old Venezuelan righty’s 1.18 ERA and 0.77 WHIP are both best among all qualified pitchers in the California League. He’s given up just 6 earned runs and 21 hits over 45 2/3 frames while failing to allow a single home run for Stockton this season.
-RHP Jefferson Jean is another young starter who’s impressed for the Ports this season. After struggling with Stockton in 2024, the hard-throwing 20-year-old Dominican righty has posted a 3.15 ERA while notching 44 strikeouts and allowing just 26 hits in 40 frames for the Ports this season.
-RHP Tzu-Chen Sha, who signed with the A’s as an international free agent in 2023, has made some big strides this season at Stockton. After putting up a 6.33 ERA for the Ports in 2024, the 21-year-old Taiwanese righty has posted a 2.73 ERA while averaging 12.5 K/9 over 33 innings of work for Stockton this season.
-LHP Wei-En Lin is another young Taiwanese hurler who’s impressed for the Ports this season. The 19-year-old southpaw has shown tremendous command and currently leads the squad with 60 strikeouts (tied for 2nd-most in the California League) while issuing just 4 walks in 41 innings of work for Stockton this season.
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