A's Prospect Luis Medina Off to a Nice Start in Las Vegas

When the A's traded Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees, Luis Medina was one of the pieces that came back to Oakland, and he was arguably the biggest wildcard. Medina has an electric arm, but his command is a work in progress. After he reported to Double-A Midland last season, the right-hander issued 22 walks in 20.2 innings pitched.

Luis Medina routinely hits triple digits, and as of right now he is a starting pitcher. That could change later this season since Medina will be out of options next spring, so it would behoove the Oakland A's to find a way for him to have success by the end of this year and know what his role will be heading into spring training 2024.

Last night in Las Vegas Luis Medina went four innings, gave up two hits, struck out six, and didn't allow a single walk.

Luis Medina's Saturday night in Vegas:
4 IP
2 H
0 R
6 K

The @Athletics' No. 20 prospect ramped his heater up as high as 102.1 mph and averaged 98.5 for the @AviatorsLV: pic.twitter.com/9ArWyVQpKE
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 9, 2023

Not allowing a walk may not seem like a huge accomplishment, but Medina allowed at least one walk in each of his 24 starts a year ago. Back in 2021 he didn't allow a walk in back-to-back games in Double-A Somerset, so there is precedent for such outings.

Obviously this is just one start, and only his second start at this new level, but it's hard not to get excited about Luis Medina. He touched 102 on Saturday, and pitched a heck of a game against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, who had been riding a six-game win streak, including beating Las Vegas the first four games of this series.

It's also worth noting that Medina only got to three balls against two batters. In 6.1 cumulative innings this season, he has allowed just two hits, one run, three walks, and struck out seven.

If Medina wants to remain a starter long-term, he's sure off to the start he needs to prove to the A's that he can be a viable pitcher every fifth day.

While it's an extreme long shot, the A's do need a spot starter for Thursday's game in Baltimore. Paul Blackburn and Drew Rucinski will be making rehab starts for Las Vegas next week, so they're out.

Adam Oller and Adrián Martínez are already on the 26-man roster and the likely candidates to get that start, but if another one of the A's starters doesn't go deep into a game and Mark Kotsay is forced to go to use one of them ahead of Thursday, then a fresh arm may be needed.

Luis Medina would be on regular rest on Thursday, and while he's arguably not ready for a start at the big league level after not walking anyone for the first time in a year and a half, he would be able to get a taste of the big leagues and also provide at least a few innings to save the bullpen.

This likely wouldn't be the A's first choice, because Medina's development is more important to the long-term goals of the team, but the A's also don't have a ton of other options on the 40-man roster at the moment. Hogan Harris and Chad Smith are the only other pitchers on the 40-man that aren't currently on the IL.

The start will likely go to Adam Oller, but if Martínez pitches in relief due to another starter not going deep into a game, then they may switch him out for a fresh arm to continue to cobble together innings until Blackburn and/or Rucinski are healthy.