A's Kyle Muller on Fire to Start Spring
Kyle Muller is out of options. He'll either make the A's Opening Day roster in a few weeks, he'll be traded, or he'll be placed on waivers. The stakes are high for the 6-foot-7 left-hander, and so far this spring, he's responding.
The tall southpaw revamped his delivery over the offseason, per Martín Gallegos, by "raising his arm slot and adjusting his windup rotation from east-to-west to more of a north-to-south motion."
The results so far in camp have been impressive. Through two appearances, Muller has completed five innings, given up five hits, one walk, two runs (one earned), and struck out seven. The three hits he allowed against the Kansas City Royals on Friday afternoon were all singles.
Last season through two outings, Muller held a 5.79 ERA through 4 2/3 innings and had just been rocked for four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk against the Royals. He seems to be trending in the right direction, but it's still pretty early in camp. Making hard conclusions at this time wouldn't be wise.
That said, the mechanics he's using in camp are similar to how he was throwing in the Atlanta Braves system back in 2022. He held a 3.41 ERA in Triple-A that season across 23 starts and 134 2/3 innings. He was also striking guys out at a 29.3% clip that season in the minors, and that K-rate just didn't develop in Las Vegas, where it sat at just 16.9%. Through five innings in camp he's at 33.3%. His walk rate in '22 was also a solid 7.4%, while it went up to 12.6% in the minors last year.
If Muller is going to be more in line with the pitcher that carved up the International League, then he could play a big role on the A's in 2024. Right now he has an outside shot at being the fifth starter in the A's rotation, but the more likely landing spot would be as a long-man out of the bullpen.
Rule 5 draftee Mitch Spence also seems like a candidate for bullpen work to begin the year, and Luis Medina, who's also out of options, could be the final member of the starting five. In that scenario, Joe Boyle would be left in the minor leagues, and he has been mighty impressive this spring in his own right, allowing just three hits and two runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking nobody.
The one thing working against Boyle here would be that he still has three options remaining, so if he didn't make the team, he could just report to Triple-A. If Muller or Medina don't make it, they're likely finding themselves on another club. Same goes for Spence, who would be placed on waivers and if he went unclaimed would be offered back to the New York Yankees.
From a roster construction standpoint, Boyle may be the odd-man out to begin the season, barring injury. Still, the additions of Alex Wood and Ross Stripling are seen as veteran arms that are looking to bounce back a bit, and are seen as trade bait around midseason. There will be opportunities to be had for all of the pitchers in the mix, but it may take some maneuvering to keep them all in the organization.