Why It Might Be Time To Worry About Athletics' Jump
In this story:
Gage Jump has jumped up and jumped down since the All-Star Break.
Jump was the Athletics' premier arm at one point in the season, no doubt. But after seven starts since the break, Jump has started to become a liability. And while he is still early in his career and has plenty of time to overcome these issues, it is clear that something needs to give very soon.
Worst Athletics Starter Since the Break
Aside from Jack Perkins and, briefly, Mason Barnett, the Athletics' worst pitcher since the break has been Jump. Compared to the other worst starters, Jump has pitched significantly more innings than either of them. And for that reason, Jump has earned the title of the Athletics' worst second-half pitcher.
Since the break, Jump has pitched 33.1 innings while posting a 6.75 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP, along with allowing five home runs and 36 hits. Not good at all. Even though Jump has shown some promise since the break, there is still a feeling of worry when he steps on the mound. In the series finale vs. the Royals, he pitched 4.0 innings, allowing five runs and eight hits.
Too Much Pressure?
Jump in the first half of the season would post a 3.51 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Even though that is not stunning by any means, considering he is a rookie, the conversation starts to shift. Without his rocky debut, Jump would have a 3.09 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. When you factor in the Athletics' home ballpark disadvantage, it was more than obvious that Jump is good at baseball.
Because of his strong first half, Jump would earn the first spot in the rotation, even ahead of JT Ginn. With more time to reflect on how well he had played, as well as the team positioning him as the best pitcher on the team, there is reason to believe that Jump's struggles stem from the high expectations placed on him by the team and fan base.
Plausible Solutions
The bottom line for the Athletics as a whole is to figure out how to prevent a collapse like this from happening next season. One way to do so is by allowing Jump to earn back some of his moxie. One avenue to do so would be to send him down for one or two more starts in Triple-A.
The only issue is that without Jump, the problem would likely worsen. With Kade Morris and Dallas Keuchel being the only two realistic options to fill the spot, the A's will most likely keep Jump in the rotation even if his confidence is completely drained by the end of the season.
However, when you consider Jacob Lopez's trek to becoming the Athletics' best second-half pitcher, this solution makes sense. Prior to getting sent down a few weeks before the break, Lopez was easily the Athletics' worst pitcher. So bad that he volunteered to get sent down to "figure out" his struggles.
A refresh in Triple-A could be exactly what Jump needs to rebuild confidence and come back later this season to finish on a strong note. If this happens, Jump will be entering 2027 with more confidence than he would have if nothing changed from this day forward. It could be interesting to see if something like this could actually happen.
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Andrew Ferguson is the beat writer at Athletics On SI. He is currently pursuing his sports journalism degree from UNLV, striving to turn his lifelong passion for sports into his career.
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