
MLB news roundup
Good morning A’s fans!
Yesterday afternoon the team and first round draft pick Jamie Arnold put the finishing touches on his first professional contract, signing the Florida State product to a $5,985,100 contract that is exactly slot value for the 11th overall pick:
No. 11 overall pick Jamie Arnold signs w/@Athletics for $5,985,100 (full slot value). @FSUBaseball LHP, nasty combination of fastball up to 98 mph & mid-80s sweeper, deceptive delivery also wreaks havoc with hitters. @MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/Q2nyqFfYUg
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 23, 2025
Projected to be a fast riser through the Athletics’ farm system, the 21-year-old Arnold has drawn rave reviews and has a lot of knowledgeable people in the game comparing him to Chris Sale, a former Cy Young winner that consistently placed amongst the best pitchers in the sport at his peak. Both are left-handers with pure “stuff” with a deceiving sidearm delivery and a bulldog mentality on the mound. Suffice it to say the A’s would be thrilled with that outcome.
If the top prospect rankings were released today, there’s little doubt that Arnold would be among the top pitchers in the organization. His elite fastball/slider combination could be deadly on its own after dominating in college almost exclusively on that 1-2 combo, but if he can harness a developing changeup he truly has the repertoire to be an elite arm in this game. That enormous ceiling is what made him such an enticing prospect and the fact that he fell to the A’s at 11 is astounding luck for a franchise in need of some high-end starting pitching talant.
To add the cherry on top, Arnold has yet to deal with any serious injuries thus far in his career. The expectation for the three-year FSU starter is that he’ll skip low-A and head straight to High-A, where he seems likely to thrive against lower-level competition. Considering his projected path and the Athletics’ pitching needs at the major league level the organization may be aggressive with Arnold, with a late-season 2026 debut not out of the question. Now that he’s signed he can start that journey to The Show. And look, he’s already gotten started along with his fellow draftees:
The A’s 2025 draft class made their first appearance at Fitch Park today in Mesa.
Here’s a first look at Jamie Arnold (1st round, Florida State), Devin Taylor (2nd round, Indiana) and Gavin Turley (4th round, Oregon State) repping the green and gold for the first time. pic.twitter.com/Ne7tWZYkpQ
— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) July 23, 2025
Very exciting stuff for the future. We’ll all be watching his progress with great interest.
Have a great Thursday everyone!
A’s Coverage:
- The Athletics fall again to the Rangers 2-1
- Why Have The A’s Abandoned Defense As A Priority?
- Athletics sign first-round pick Jamie Arnold to rookie contract
- A’s Drop Another, Fall To Rangers 6-2
- A’s roster moves: Bowden selected, Harris optioned, Davidson DFA’d
- A’s roster moves: Clarke and Muncy to IL, Thomas and Cortes recalled
- Kurtz displaying savvy beyond his years
- Los Angeles Dodgers Trade Package it Would Take to Land A’s Mason Miller
MLB News & Interest:
- Shohei Ohtani ties Dodgers record with homer in 5th straight game
- Mariners showing interest in Rockies’ Ryan McMahon
- Rangers activate Jon Gray for first time this season
- Rockies place starting pitcher German Marquez on IL with bicep tendinitis
- Latest on Luis Robert Jr.’s market
- Cubs discussing trade possibilities for Dylan Cease with Padres
- Cardinals designate starter Erick Fedde for assignment
- Mariners sign top pick Anderson, aren’t ruling out 2026 debut
- Giants’ Verlander gets 1st win in 17th start
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Carlos Cortes made his big league debut last night, going 0-for-1. But a debut is a debut!
Welcome to the Show, Carlos! pic.twitter.com/FBS86Zhr4X
— Athletics (@Athletics) July 24, 2025
If you missed last night’s game, don’t feel bad:
Mark Kotsay discusses the defensive miscue that made the difference in the A’s loss tonight pic.twitter.com/kRsqwjGvba
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 24, 2025
Could we have all predicted the wrong Rookie of the Year?
Kurtz extending the hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI knock pic.twitter.com/buXGIt4lzO
— Athletics (@Athletics) July 24, 2025