Grading Jacob Lopez's 2026 Season With Athletics

In a season filled with ups and downs, Jacob Lopez finished the year as a reliable starter.

Sep 25, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) throws a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As a team, it's been a rough season for the A's, filled with plenty of ups and downs. They spent much of the early season in first place in the AL West. Unfortunately, they wouldn't hold their division lead for very long.

A boatload of injuries caused the A's to fall from first place. If the team could have stayed healthy past the first couple of months of the season, they could potentially be gearing up for October baseball.

Sep 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) walks off the mound during a pitching change in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Another major factor in the A's rough season was the pitching staff. Their starters rarely delivered consistent outings, and in the first half of the season, they had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball.

Among the starters who gave the team at least something to be excited about was the second half of 2026 for Jacob Lopez.

Jacob Lopez's Rough First Half

Sep 13, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) throws a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the A's seemed like they had a chance to be competitive, Jacob Lopez was really struggling. The southpaw opened the season in the team's rotation and would eventually be optioned to Triple-A to work on his stuff.

Jacob Lopez would finish his first half of the season with a 6.83 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched. Obviously, those numbers show a lack of confidence, considering he was one of the best arms in the A's rotation last season.

Jacob Lopez after an incredibly tough outing today:

“I’m gonna go to Triple-A and figure it out…Not being able to do your job really sucks.”

Lopez says that his goals are to “get healthy, regain confidence, and try to get back here.”#Athletics pic.twitter.com/GqtAFqdOdS

— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) June 1, 2026

It seemed like Lopez was due for a big season. From the big second half of 2025 to making the Opening Day rotation this season, he was due for it.

Lopez has always drawn Chris Sale comparisons, but he certainly didn't look like Chris Sale in the first half. Luckily, when the lefty returned from Triple-A, things started looking up for Lopez.

Lopez's Strong Second Half and His 2026 Grade

Sep 7, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Things turned around real fast for Lopez in the second half, as he returned from Triple-A and rejoined the A's rotation.

He made a handful of really impressive starts and posted a 2.48 ERA in the month of August. He pitched 29 innings in that span. Opponents only batted .190 against Lopez in that month, and it looked like he was a co-ace with JT Ginn.

Jacob Lopez caps off his season with ANOTHER scintillating start, this time to help spoil the Astros' season. ✨✨✨ pic.twitter.com/PvzjMFrAJK

— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) September 26, 2026

September has been a little bit less productive for Lopez, as he posted an 8.14 ERA, but it doesn't help that in one of his last starts, he allowed 10 earned runs.

His final grade for the 2026 season is a B- because he could have been better at the beginning and end of the season, but he showcased his true ace potential for a couple of months.