Two full years have not even passed, yet, since Gage Jump was drafted by the Athletics in the 2nd round of the 2024 MLB Draft. To have made it to the big leagues and completed five consecutive scheduled starts in the A’s rotation in such a short amount of time is impressive. To be dominating professional hitters the way that he has in those starts is extraordinary.
Jump delivered his best performance so far last night, completely shutting down the Los Angeles Angels. He pitched 7.0 innings and struck out 7, only allowing a single hit. The 7 Ks are the most he’s had in any MLB start, so far, while the 1 hit is the fewest.
His debut against the Seattle Mariners back on May 26 was his only “bad” start, giving up 4 runs on 9 hits. But, still, he battled his way through 5.0 innings instead of getting yanked early. Since then, he’s been on a heater. In his next four starts, he’s only allowed 4 runs on 12 hits in 25.1 IP. That’s absurd for a pitcher as young as him.
All in all, Jump’s numbers look comparable to the top pitchers in the sport. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but the continued improvement through each of his starts is promising. Take a look at his stats, as a whole.
Tiger fans have seen this story before, though. After pitching for the UCLA Bruins in his freshman year, he missed his sophomore season with Tommy John surgery. He then transferred to LSU and as he was steadily built up by Jay Johnson and Nate Yeskie coming back from the injury, he got better and better throughout that 2024 season. By the end of the year, he was considered one of the best aces in the SEC, due to these numbers:
6-2 record / 3.47 ERA / 83.0 IP / 101 K / 22 BB / 1.060 WHIP / .218 BA against
Simply put, Gage Jump is a stud. He’s also not done improving. He was sitting in the low-to-mid 90s with his fastball velocity just two years ago in Alex Box. He’s touched 99 mph already as a pro. The lefty and his funky delivery aren’t going anywhere any time soon. The Athletics have themselves a good one.
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