A's LHP From Tampa Bay Rays Projected Slightly Ahead of Former NY Yankees Prospect

The Sacramento-bound Athletics made some moves this winter that have excited the fan base and have some people thinking they could be a sneaky team heading into 2025. One of those moves was to acquire left-hander Jeffrey Springs from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Springs is expected to be the A's No. 2 starter entering the season, behind former New York Yankees and Mets starter Luis Severino, whom the A's signed to a three-year, $67 million deal in December. The lefty broke out back in 2022 when he posted a 2.46 ERA (3.04 FIP) across 135.1 innings in his first season as a member of a starting rotation.

He followed that up with 16 strong innings in 2023, posting a 0.56 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He would return in 2024, tossing 33 innings with a 3.27 ERA, but was shut down in September due to left elbow fatigue. He could have kept going, but the Rays and the doctors wanted to be cautious with him.

So the A's are taking a bit of a health risk with the addition of Springs, but when he's been on the mound, he's been stellar for his club. The upside with him in the mix is that he could become the A's ace of the rotation, even with Severino in the mix.

Yet, Eno Sarris of The Athletic ran the numbers, and doesn't rank him quite as highly as many would have hoped. It should also be noted that these rankings are in terms of fantasy baseball, so the effect on wins and losses for the actual team may differ a little bit. But in general, a pitcher that pitches well tends to get more wins for his team, if they can score runs for him.

Sarris has Springs ranked as the No. 98 overall starting pitcher heading into the season based off Stuff+, which the system pegs at a 93 (100 is league average). His location is also roughly average at a 99, giving him a Pitching+ score of 93. He also holds a projected ppERA of 4.15, which is meant to be park adjusted.

With just 116 projected innings, his fantasy value is ranked just inside of the top-100.

On the other hand, former New York Yankees prospect and A's Rule 5 draftee Mitch Spence comes in just a few spots behind him at No. 105 overall, despite having the better projections. Spence's Stuff+ came in at 99, and his Location+ at 103, giving him a 103 Pitching+. Spence is projected for a 4.14 ppERA over 163 innings.

In a deeper fantasy league, these kinds of decisions could have a big impact on how well your team performs, given that Spence is likely to be around a few rounds later.

With that in mind, some extra food for thought: Osvaldo Bido is the second-highest projected A's starter, ranking at No. 82 overall, thanks to a Stuff+ of 105 and a Pitching+ of 89. We've written about Bido being underrated, and it seems as though people are starting to catch on. He had a tremendous small sample as a starter before he missed time at the end of the year with an injury, but he could be a sneaky pitcher to watch on the A's this season.

He is projected to hold a 3.83 ERA according to Sarris' model.

The top Athletics pitcher is Severino, ranked No. 69, with a 108 Stuff+ and a ppERA of 3.99. The A's rotation will determine what kind of a season the club has in 2025, but with four pitchers hovering right around a 4.00 ERA, that could be a nice starting point for the team moving forward. A's starters finished with a 4.76 ERA in 2025.