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A.J. Puk

Injured Athletics Hurlers Making Progress

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Several injured Athletics pitchers are on the march back to the majors, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Whether they’ll make it in time to help draw the team back into the postseason race remains to be seen.

Jharel Cotton is furthest along among those sidelined with long-term maladies. He’s slated to launch a rehab assignment on Friday in his effort to return from Tommy John surgery, which means he could be pitching from a big-league mound by mid-June.

The 27-year-old Cotton hasn’t appeared in competitive action since the 2017 campaign, his first full go at the MLB level. He managed only a 5.58 ERA in 129 innings, with 28 long balls largely to blame. Still, he has long been seen as a potentially solid back-of-the-rotation big-league hurler.

There’s an even more talented trio of lefties also grinding through the rehab process as well. Former first-rounder A.J. Puk just threw his first simulated game, which is quite a notable step in his own TJ recovery. He could be an option as soon as July, Slusser indicates, with Sean Manaea (shoulder surgery) and Jesus Luzardo (rotator cuff strain) potentially being available after the trade deadline.

This glance at the injured list serves as a reminder of how much talent the Oakland organization has been forced to go without in the early going. Unfortunately, it seems as if the club will need to claw back into the race before it receives much in the way of reinforcement.

The rotation hasn’t been the sole cause of the A’s slow start, but there are certainly some issues. The three veteran offseason signees haven’t exactly thrived. Outside of his no-hitter, Mike Fiers has struggled. Marco Estrada did the same before going down with an injury. Brett Anderson has been solid but is hardly a dominant rotation piece. There are mixed results otherwise. Frankie Montas is pitching quite well and Chris Bassitt has shown some promise in a four-start sample, but Aaron Brooks has been homer-prone and Daniel Mengden’s first start of the year didn’t go well.

Athletics’ A.J. Puk Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The A’s announced on Wednesday that top pitching prospect A.J. Puk underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure on the highly touted southpaw, who will now be out for the entirety of the 2018 season.

The news isn’t a shock at this point, as Puk was originally recommended for Tommy John surgery back in late March after initially complaining of biceps soreness. Further testing revealed the problem to be ligament-related, and two doctors recommended that he undergo the season-ending procedure.

Puk, 23 later this month, was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Florida. The former Gators ace quickly ascended through the Athletics’ minor league system, tossing a combined 125 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season. In that time, he logged a 4.03 ERA with a gaudy 13.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 while displaying above-average ground-ball tendencies. Entering the season, Puk was touted as one of the game’s top overall prospects, with Baseball America, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus all tabbing him 30th overall, while MLB.com pegged him 32nd. ESPN’s Keith Law was the most bullish on Puk, ranking him 13th overall.

The towering 6’7″, 220-pound lefty showed well in Spring Training, working to a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 frames in big league camp and prompting some to speculate upon whether he could be an option for the Opening Day rotation — or at the very least a candidate to join the starting mix early on in the 2018 season. Instead, the A’s will now see their top prospect lose a full year of development, though it’s not difficult to envision him making an impact late in the 2019 season if his rehab goes according to plan.

Athletics Prospect A.J. Puk Recommended For Tommy John Surgery

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8:34PM: As per a statement released by the A’s, Dr. James Andrews has recommended that Puk undergo Tommy John surgery to correct UCL damage in his throwing elbow.  Andrews provided the second opinion after Dr. Doug Freedberg made an initial diagnosis.  The procedure would put Puk out of action for an estimated 12-15 months, and it seems likely that Oakland would err on the longer side of that timeline for precautionary reasons.

6:28PM: A’s manager Bob Melvin confirmed that Puk is getting a second opinion but didn’t provide details on the specifics of the injury, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets.

5:45PM: Athletics left-handed pitching prospect A.J. Puk was shut down last week due to biceps soreness, and now there are concerns that Puk may have a ligament problem in his throwing elbow, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.  Puk “was thought to be” looking for second opinions after initial meetings with doctors since his shutdown, which would hint at a larger issue.  Another possible ominous sign, as noted by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), is that the A’s themselves have yet to go on record about Puk’s injury, not even to confirm the initial diagnosis.

The worst-case scenario for ligament issues, of course, would be Tommy John surgery, which would sideline Puk until midway through the 2019 season.  The A’s have already lost Jharel Cotton to TJ surgery this spring and Paul Blackburn has also been sidelined with a forearm strain, though Puk going on the shelf would represent a big setback for both the club and for one of the game’s best prospects.

Puk entered the spring as the consensus pick as Oakland’s top minor leaguer, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranking the southpaw 13th on his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  (Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and Fangraphs all had Puk 30th, while MLB.com ranked him just behind at 32nd on their top-100 lists.)  Puk only added to his stature with a strong showing in Oakland’s spring camp, though a rough performance in his final appearance led to the shutdown, and Heyman observes that Puk’s velocity had dropped over his last two outings.

Drafted sixth overall in 2016, Puk had already reached Double-A last season and it was expected he would make his MLB debut at some point this season.  After his good start in spring camp, there was even some chatter that the A’s would give him an aggressive promotion right to the big leagues, though obviously now the team will be as careful in possible in getting Puk back onto a mound at all, if possible.

Athletics Shut Down Top Prospect A.J. Puk With Biceps Soreness

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The Athletics have shut down top pitching prospect A.J. Puk with biceps soreness, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. At this point, the severity of the injury is not fully known, though indications are that the exciting young lefty will be able to return to the hill before too long.

Needless to say, any issues in that region of such a valuable arm are going to be dealt with quite cautiously. Per the report, Puk has already undergone an MRI that did not give cause for concern that there is “any major structural damage.” Still, biceps soreness is a symptom associated with potentially serious elbow issues and the club will want to be certain that the current problem is not exacerbated.

Puk was taken with the sixth overall selection in the 2016 draft and turned in a solid, 125-inning effort in 2017. Splitting his time between High-A and Double-A in his first full season as a professional, the 22-year-old ran up a 4.03 ERA with 13.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.

Oakland had already determined that the high-powered southpaw would not crack the roster out of camp. But A’s fans were already no doubt looking forward to his arrival sooner than later after watching him spin over nine scoreless Cactus League innings this spring before he was finally touched in his last frame. There’s no particular reason to believe that Puk’s ultimate ascension will be slowed significantly, though perhaps now the Oakland organization will handle him with added care early in the 2018 season.

Athletics Notes: Anderson, Puk, Phegley

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The latest on Oakland…

  • The Athletics agreed to reunite with right-hander Trevor Cahill on Saturday, and they may not be done adding old friends to their pitching mix. The team is considering signing left-hander Brett Anderson, who’d likely receive a minor league contract, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Anderson debuted in the majors with the A’s in 2009 and was mostly effective in Oakland through 2013, but injuries prevented him from realizing his potential. Those injury woes have seldom let up for Anderson, now 30 years old, in his post-Oakland stops. Most recently, he struggled mightily last season across 55 1/3 innings (13 appearances, all starts) between the Cubs and Blue Jays. Anderson pitched to a 6.34 ERA, albeit with a fairly encouraging 4.10 FIP, and logged 6.18 K/9, 3.42 BB/9 and a 49.2 percent groundball rate.
  • Oakland pared down its rotation competition Sunday, sending southpaw A.J. Puk to minor league camp. That seems to leave Cahill, Paul Blackburn, Andrew Triggs, Daniel Gossett and Daniel Mengden as the contenders for the last three spots in their rotation. While the 22-year-old Puk ranks as one of the game’s top prospects, expectations were that the A’s would send him down, as he hasn’t even reached the Triple-A level yet.
  • Catcher Josh Phegley has a pair of broken fingers on his right hand and will cease baseball activities for at least two weeks, Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets. That should take Phegley out of the running for a roster spot in Oakland, though it looked unlikely he’d earn one anyway after the club recently signed Jonathan Lucroy. He should team with Bruce Maxwell to comprise the A’s top two backstops, leaving Phegley – with his one option remaining – to head to Triple-A.

AL West Notes: Ohtani, Vogelbach, Whalen, A’s, Cotton, Puk

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The struggles of Shohei Ohtani this spring have been well-documented already, and while he’s ranked as one of the top prospects in baseball in most publications, scouts have been vocal about some weaknesses in his game. Ohtani would seem to be a significant part of the Angels’ plans for 2018, but GM Billy Eppler recently said that the club has made no assurances to Ohtani that he’ll be on the opening day roster (report: Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). “In our universe, we are evaluating this in a vacuum,” said Eppler. “Is this 23-year-old prospect ready to make an impact on both sides of the ball?” The decision to start Ohtani in the minors (if a serious consideration) would certainly make sense from a development perspective, and would come with the enormous benefit of giving the Angels an extra year of control over the two-way Japanese phenom, if he were to spend at least 15 days at Triple-A. Of course, such a decision would surely come with a storm of controversy as well.

Elsewhere in the AL West…

  • Greg Johns of MLB.com writes that the injury to Ryon Healy might have presented an opportunity for Mariners first baseman Dan Vogelbach, who’s opened some eyes this spring by hitting .405 with nine extra-base hits and nine walks in 37 at-bats during Cactus League play. “Vogey deserves to be on this club,” said GM Jerry DiPoto. “He has raked from day one. He has controlled the strike zone really better than anybody in the Cactus League. What he’s doing with the bat is reminiscent of what he’s kind of always done in the Minor Leagues, but we’ve never had the opportunity to see in the big leagues.” He also offered high praise for right-hander Rob Whalen, who was acquired from the Braves a year ago and has proved dominant this spring after coming into camp 25 pounds lighter.
  • Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton will officially undergo Tommy John surgery according to a report earlier today. “I’m trying to take it as best I can, and just get ready for the long process, the long road ahead,” Cotton said in a video tweeted by Jane Lee of MLB.com. “I just gotta work hard with the rehab and come back stronger, so that’s what I’m gonna do.” Cotton’s absence in the rotation will leave the A’s a bit thin on starters, which the club has reportedly acknowledged; manager Bob Melvin has suggested that they might look at free agent pitching options, if prices have come down (h/t Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). One way they don’t plan on filling the rotation void is with top prospect A.J. Puk, according to club president Billy Beane. Via another tweet from Lee, Beane had the following comments when asked if Puk was a legitimate option for the opening day rotation: “If he is, it’s only because we don’t have a lot of options. Do I think it’s ideal to call upon a kid who has half a year at Double-A? No. That would not be the preferred route.”

Athletics Sign 6th Overall Draft Pick A.J. Puk

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The Athletics have signed lefty A.J. Puk, their top pick from the recent amateur draft, the club announced. Puk was taken with the sixth overall selection, which came with a $4,069,200 pool allocation. He’ll receive exactly that amount with his bonus, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter).

Puk pitched at the University of Florida, where he showed immense talent but also some inconsistency. Still, he drew real consideration with the first overall pick, and was a consensus top-five talent heading into the festivities.

Baseball America ranked Puk as the very best draft talent available on its board, citing his large frame, high-velo fastball, and promising slider and change-up. Despite Puk’s 6’7 height, BA gives him good marks for his ability to work in the zone and locate his heater.

Other outlets were only slightly lower on the big southpaw. MLB.com and ESPN.com each listed him at fourth among draft-eligible prospects. Despite the evident tools, Puk hasn’t been quite as consistently dominant as one might hope. And the secondary offerings aren’t fully functional at present.

 

 

Still, it’s all nit-picking at this level of player, and all agree that Puk has immense potential. It was a bit of a surprise that he slid to Oakland, but the A’s were glad to add a player who could be one of the first from the top of the draft to have an impact at the major league level.

Draft Notes: Puk, Phillies, Top 500, Groome

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We’re five days from the start of the 2016 MLB Draft, and ESPN’s Keith Law’s latest mock draft (Insider only) has the Phillies taking Florida lefty A.J. Puk with the first overall pick. He notes, however, that the Phillies still haven’t settled on anyone. The selection of another player (like Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis, Louisville outfielder Corey Ray, or California high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, all of whom Law mentions as possibilities) could cause uncertainty elsewhere in the draft. Here’s more on what to expect this week.

  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak himself says the Phillies are debating who to select but have whittled their list of possibilities down to “a small handful,” writes Philly.com’s Matt Breen. In addition to Puk, Lewis and Moniak, Breen also names Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel and California high school outfielder Blake Rutherford as possibilities.
  • Baseball America’s list of the top 500 draft prospects currently features Puk at the top, with Lewis, Moniak, Senzel and Ray at Nos. 4 through 7, respectively. Between them are Kansas high school righty Riley Pint and New Jersey high school lefty Jason Groome. In the subscriber-only scouting reports, BA praises Groome’s mid-90s fastball and biting curveball, noting that he’s at least as physically gifted as any other player available this year.
  • Many of this week’s high school draftees will face tough decisions about whether to go to college or turn pro, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani explains that he turned down a bonus of about $600K from the Red Sox out of high school so that he could head to the University of Florida. He got a smaller bonus after the Blue Jays selected him three years later. “You go from not making decisions that matter through high school – you decide to do your homework or something, or what you’re going to eat – and then you decide whether to go play professional baseball or go to college,” says DeSclafani. “That can be a life-changing thing.”

Braves Notes: Diaz, Rebuild, Draft, Olivera, Minor

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Earlier today it was reported that the Braves are expected to make a push for much-ballyhooed Cuban prospect Lazaro Armenteros (aka “Lazarito“), though it’s worth noting that they’d need to convince Armenteros to wait to sign until after July 2 (otherwise, their previously reported plan of shattering their international signing pool in the 2016-17 period would go out the window due to penalties from Armenteros’ bonus). As Braves fans ponder the chances of seeing their favorite club land Lazarito, here are few more items pertaining to Atlanta…

  • The Braves “worked hard” to try to find a way to acquire infield prospect Isan Diaz from the Diamondbacks prior to his inclusion in the trade that allowed the D-backs to shed much of Aaron Hill’s salary, tweets MLB Network’s Peter Gammons. Per Gammons, the Braves appeared to have a similar idea to the Brewers (who acquired Diaz, Chase Anderson and much of Aaron Hill’s contract in exchange for Jean Segura and Tyler Wagner). Gammons notes that the Braves were trying to “alleviate [the] D-backs’ cash issues,” but a deal was never reached.
  • Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to GM John Coppolella about the team’s rebuild and the differences between the trades he and president of baseball ops John Hart have made this winter and the ones the pair made last offseason. “In a lot of the trades we made in the 2014-2015 offseason, the players were a lot further away,” said Coppolella in reference to trades that netted the likes of Mallex Smith, Max Fried, Tyrell Jenkins, Rio Ruiz and others (although names like Shelby Miller and Mike Foltynewicz did represent MLB-ready options acquired last winter). “With [with the Miller and Andrelton Simmons trades], you really got six players you could see (in Atlanta) in 2016. A lot of the deals we made last year … were more to restart the system than have major-league impact in the short term.” Atlanta landed Major Leaguers Ender Inciarte and Erick Aybar in those trades as well as near-ready prospects Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis, Aaron Blair and Dansby Swanson.
  • Coppolella and scouting director Brian Bridges met with draft hopefuls A.J. Puk (LHP) and Buddy Reed (OF) recently, reports Scout.com’s Bill Shanks. Either Florida Gators star could be a candidate for the Braves’ top pick, per Shanks, though as he notes, Coppolella recently stated that the team’s preference would be to draft a hitter.
  • In his latest Braves Inbox column, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes that while the jury is out on the Hector Olivera trade, it’s fair to wonder whether Olivera’s stock can recover from the hit it took with shaky performances in the Majors and in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Bowman also fields a question on left-hander Mike Minor, replying by saying that Minor’s “days of pitching for Atlanta appear to be over, at least for now.” Minor is still recovering from his shoulder surgery, Bowman writes, adding that it sounds like Minor could sign with a new club within the next month.

NL East Notes: Minaya, Marlins, Phillies, Storen

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Though many felt that Omar Minaya left the Mets with a barren farm system and more than deserved his dismissal as GM in 2010, Michael Powell of the New York Times notes that many of the Mets’ key contributors in 2015 are from the Minaya regime. Minaya tells Powell that he takes pride in knowing that he helped lay the groundwork for the team’s current success, noting that he still gets excited seeing players like Jeurys Familia and Hansel Robles succeed. As Powell points out, those two pitchers, along with Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, Juan Lagares, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Jon Niese were all signed or drafted during Minaya’s time as GM. Minaya defers much of the credit to scouts such as Ismael Cruz, Rudy Terrasas, Ramon Pena and Larry Izzo, but the now-former GM nonetheless deserves credit for some of the talent he left for successor Sandy Alderson. “You’re just happy to be part of something that is working today; a story is not written by one man,” said Minaya, who is now a senior adviser to MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. “If I said I always knew all these kids would be this good, I’d be lying.”

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • The Marlins are playing for more than pride and third place in the NL East, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Though the playoffs, of course, are not a possibility for Miami, the team’s performance over the final 16 games could help shape the front office and owner Jeffrey Loria’s course of action this offseason. Frisaro notes that it’s “no secret” that the club is willing to trade Marcell Ozuna, but a dismal finish to the year could potentially leave the front office convinced that further changes are required and thusly place even more players on the trade block.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com spoke with Baseball America’s John Manuel about the pitchers that could be waiting for the Phillies at the top of next year’s June draft. As Salisbury notes, incoming president Andy MacPhail is known as a “pitching guy” and has in the past been quoted as saying, “Buy the bats. Grow the arms.” Manuel tells Salisbury that among single-digit picks in next year’s draft (i.e. those chosen picks 1 through 9), pitching is a strength. Florida left-hander A.J. Puk, high school lefty Jason Groome and high school right-hander Riley Pint make up the top three arms in next year’s draft class, Manuel tells Salisbury. Those interested in the Phillies and in next year’s draft will surely want to give the column a lengthier look.
  • Drew Storen expressed regret to reporters, including MLB.com’s Ben Raby, over his actions that led to a fractured thumb that will end his season. The displaced Nationals closer Storen broke the finger when slamming a locker door after surrendering a two-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes. “Obviously, I was a little frustrated with my outing, but I had no intention [of causing harm],” said Storen. “I’m not the type of guy to punch a wall or do something like that. It’s not what I was aiming for.” Storen dismissed the notion that he may have played his final game for the Nats, writes Raby — he’s been mentioned as a speculative trade candidate this offseason — instead stating that his focus is on getting healthy and supporting his Nationals teammates in the season’s final few weeks. Storen will be arb-eligible for the final time this offseason and due a raise on his $5.7MM salary. He’ll be a free agent following the 2016 season.

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