A's Set to Unleash Breakout Star From Tampa Bay Rays System

A's left-hander Jacob Lopez had a good taste of the big leagues in 2025, and is a breakout candidate for the team this upcoming season.

Jun 19, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The A's landed a pair of southpaws from the Tampa Bay Rays last offseason, where the headline of the package was Jeffrey Springs headed to the Green and Gold.

Alongside Springs, the A's received Jacob Lopez, which just seemed like another depth arm to fill up a spot on the 40-man roster. However, his less than 100 innings pitched in the big leagues showed that he could be a future high-end starter for the A's.

Lopez pitched 92 2/3 innings for the A's this season in 21 appearances, 17 of them being starts. The lefty posted a 4.08 ERA, which doesn't jump out by any means, but a couple of rough outings and then an injury took a toll on his ERA and his innings for the remainder of the season. It also seems like he got a little bit unlucky, as his xERA, or expected ERA, was 3.64, which is well above league average.

A big part of Lopez's success was his ability to put out opposing hitters via the strikeout. He struck out 113 batters and was able to post a 28.3% strikeout rate, which puts him in the 85th percentile of MLB pitchers. The starting pitchers that surround him in strikeout rate are all perennial Cy Young contenders.

Jacob Lopez also did a good job of pitching to weak contact, as he was well above league average in barrel percentage and was even in the 94th percentile of hard-hit percentage, which is elite.

For a guy who had less than 25 career innings pitched in MLB before the 2025 season, he proved that he could be productive by allowing weak contact as well as working counts and punching out batters at a high rate. The trick for him moving forward will be working a little deeper into games. If he's able to do that, he could be a legitimate Cy Young contender.

As mentioned, Lopez's 2025 campaign would come to a close in late August, as he suffered a Grade 1 flexor strain. Although he never returned as manager, Mark Kotsay hoped, it's probably better off that he gets the extra rest so he can be fully ready to go come Spring Training of 2026.

Lopez will certainly look to reclaim his spot in the rotation in camp. The team has several other options in the rotation to consider such as Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Luis Morales, Luis Medina, J.T. Ginn, Jack Perkins, Joey Estes, and Mitch Spence.

Some of these guys will likely start in Triple-A, but are all guys who have made starts in the big leagues in 2025, and they all will be fighting for spots in the rotation. Lopez likely did enough in 2025 to be considered a lock for the rotation, along with Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino.

On the surface, seeing a lefty throwing 90 mph fastballs seems like he'd never pan out in the current-day MLB, but his extension also ranks among the best in baseball, which gets that heaer on hitters a little more quickly. With his off-speed stuff and his ability to generate weak contact, paired with about seven strikeouts a game, and that could make him an elite starter in the league as soon as 2026.