Shea Langeliers Points to Standout Addition to A's Staff As Guy to Watch
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WEST SACRAMENTO -- At the end of the 2025 season, A's manager Mark Kotsay stood in the box against Luis Medina, who had missed the entire year while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The A's manager said his stuff looked good and he came away impressed.
This year Medina made the team as a member of the bullpen, and has been worked back into the swing of things slowly, given that he hadn't pitched in a game since 2024. So far this season he worked 1/3 of an inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in an extra-inning loss, and then followed that up with two scoreless frames against the Atlanta Braves, giving up a hit and striking out one.
The A's backstop, when asked which arms have stood out to him across the first six games of the season, immediately pointed to the returning righty as someone to watch out for.
Shea Langeliers thinks Medina is the one to watch
"I think the one to watch is Medina. Medina has got, in my opinion, the best stuff down there [in the bullpen]. And if he puts it all together, it can be really special."
Kotsay echoed that sentiment, saying, "last outing looked really good. The first outing obviously felt like there might have been some nerves, and the pace of the game was a little quick. But the outing in Atlanta showed a lot of poise. Showed a really good fastball. He's tinkering with a change/split that look to be effective.
"Not having pitched for two plus seasons or so, I think that where he's at right now is probably ahead of expectations in terms of command, throwing strikes, and attacking the zone."
Medina's stuff turning heads
In the early going, Medina's Stuff+ metrics are leading the entire staff along with Luis Severino, with both players grading out with a 106 (100 is league average). While this is a small sample size, this is the highest stuff grade that Medina has had in a season, reaching 103 in 2023 and 101 in 2024.
His slider in particular has been nasty, holding a 136 stuff grade and earning a 33.3% whiff rate in the early going. That slider coupled with his changeup (109) have been the nastiest pitches, but it's his sinker that he's relied on consistently, sitting at 96.7 miles per hour and also being the offering he's been able to command most frequently.
Given the layoff he had after injury, there is certainly going to be some catching up that he has to do this season to get him fully back in the mix. That said, the excitement level from his catcher sure made it seem as though Medina could become an arm to watch out for not only as a member of the bullpen, but also potentially in the wide open closer mix.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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