San Francisco Sports Today

San Francisco Sports News Continuously Updated

Elephant Rumblings: Mixed bag from Ginn in first start back

by

Los Angeles Angels v Athletics
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

MLB news round

Morning everyone!

Last night saw the return of young righty JT Ginn to the active roster. He not only returned, but he got the starting assignment against the Angels as well to kick off the home stand. The 25-year-old Ginn, who you may remember was a key part of the return package for former starter Chris Bassitt, made his big league debut last year with decent results. In six starts he posted a 4.45 ERA in 30 1⁄3 innings, not dominant but also not bad for a rookie’s first taste of major league competition. It was enough to put him on the radar for the coming year.

This spring he just lost out on a season-opening rotation slot but he wouldn’t have to wait long. After two dominant starts in Triple-A Ginn got the call back to the big leagues to take over for fellow rookie Joey Estes. Ginn immediately impressed by pitching into the sixth inning in his first start with the A’s this season. His next two outings weren’t as promising but he was soon placed on the IL with elbow inflammation, which could be used as an excuse for those two sub-par starts. He’d take the next two weeks off before making just a single rehab start. It was an encouraging outing that saw him get up to 64 pitches without allowing a run but still, just one rehab start seemed like a quick turn around. The A’s were in need of a starter with Bido demoted and Ginn lined up for yesterday’s start so the stars aligned for his activation off the IL.

His return to the team began encouragingly enough with a strikeout to start the game. The next batter then hit a home run, and a HBP suddenly threw Ginn right into a tough situation. A well-timed double play helped him escape but that was only the start of the damage against the young starter. Los Angeles would ultimately score three more times against him in his first start back, enough to saddle him with the loss.

There were plenty of encouraging signs from the young righty in his first start back. He racked up an impressive seven strikeouts in just four innings, five of which were of the swinging variety. He also didn’t hurt himself with any free passes, which has been a calling card for him during his pro career. The big hit off Ginn came in the third when he left a hanging slider up in the zone that Angels home run leader Taylor Ward took full advantage of for a two-run home run. You can’t leave that type of pitch up in the zone against a hitter like Ward who punishes mistakes.

On the whole it wasn’t a horrible first start back especially considering the rookie only had one rehab outing, but it was a mixed bag overall. Arguably the most important thing from last night is the fact that Ginn didn’t get hurt or otherwise reaggravate an injury. He managed to get his pitch count up to 79 so one could infer that was around the ceiling of pitches the team would let him approach. The team might be more comfortable letting him push deeper into games as he gets further from his injury. His next scheduled start is lined up for a difficult Saturday night matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. Hopefully he can build off yesterday as he prepares to face the likes of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner.

Have a great week A’s fans!

A’s Coverage:

MLB News & Interest:

Best of X:

Huge development down on the farm:

Possible Vegas update coming…?

Filed Under: A's