Luis Medina Seemingly Headed to Oakland
Before Sunday's game, Mark Kotsay was cagey with reporters about announcing his starting rotation for the Angels series this week. He confirmed that Ken Waldichuk would start on Monday, followed by Mason Miller on Tuesday, but stopped short of saying JP Sears would be making Wednesday's start on his regular turn.
JP Sears has been a consistent starter for the A's this season, so his spot on the roster isn't up for debate. He has a 4.98 ERA and has been able to provide length out of the rotation each time out, totaling 21.2 innings in four starts.
According to A's minor leaguer Jorge Juan's Instagram profile, it would appear that Luis Medina will be called up by the A's and could be the starting pitcher for that Wednesday game.
The post (via Google translate) reads: Dominican right-hander Luis Medina has been called up to the big leagues.
This has not been announced by the Oakland A's.
Medina came to the A's system as part of the Frankie Montas trade last season (along with Sears and Waldichuk), and walks have been an issue since his arrival. The 23-year-old right-hander, like last week's call-up Miller, throws 100 miles per hour. He is also a starting pitcher, like Miller. With Medina out of options heading into next season, the club (if this call-up is accurate) may want to see what he can do at the big-league level before determining if he's a part of their long-term plans. That decision may be made easier by the club's 4-18 start allowing for more opportunities for guys with upside like Medina.
In three Triple-A starts (his only three at the level in his career) this season, Medina has tossed 9.1 innings, given up 5 hits, 5 runs (4 ER), hit a batter, walked 8, and struck out 11. He has a 3.86 ERA. His last start came on April 19, so he should be good to go as soon as today.
When he came to the A's midway through last season, he was assigned to Double-A with the RockHounds and issued 22 walks and gave up 35 hits in 20.2 innings.
If he does indeed make his big-league debut this week in Anaheim, the hope will be high for A's fans, but the expectations may be more of a "wait and see" variety.
After the A's trade for Sam Long last night, the team needs to make a move on the 40-man roster before tonight's game.