Two years ago, the A’s drafted Nick Kurtz in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. That pick worked out very well to this point. But in the second round, the Athletics picked Gage Jump, who’s developed into a very important piece of the team’s future. On May 26, he received the call to the Majors.
A Look at Jump
The Athletics were able to grab Gage Jump, a high-upside left-hander, in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft after what was a very good college career. He only made seven starts in 2023 with UCLA but was highly effective with LSU after he transferred to Baton Rouge in 2024. There, he punched out 101 over 83 innings for LSU.
Last season was the breakout year for Jump. The now-23-year-old dominated High-A with a 35% swing-and-miss rate in Lansing. That ticked down once he faced more advanced hitting in Double-A Midland. But still, he pitched very well. Between those two levels, the lefty struck out 131 batters over 112 frames.
The A’s have managed his innings, as Jump only tossed 38 innings across nine starts. However, he left the Pacific Coast League — a tough environment for pitchers — with the lead in strikeouts (56). Walks (20) were a problem, although the good news was that he was able to limit well-hit contact.
Jump only allowed two home runs, and an opponent’s Barrel% just a tick up 5% this season.
There aren’t many pitchers who can induce swing-and-miss on the fastball like Jump. In fact, no pitcher in Triple-A had more swing-and-misses (29) off the four-seamer than the lefty in May. From an overall standpoint, the 29% Whiff% off the fastball was 25th among the 117 pitchers who induced at least 40 swings on the pitch.
It’s an interesting offering, to say the least. Jump’s fastball sat 97-98 MPH with Las Vegas, which is very good for a left-hander.
His fastball, which topped out at 99 MPH this season, is one of those funky ones with not a lot of ride but some cut. And, it can get on hitters, even though the extension isn’t too high.
What Jump also has in his arsenal is some good secondary offerings. Three breaking balls, all of which had a swing-and-miss rate above 30%. A hard slider (as seen below), coupled with a sweeper, and a slower, mid-70s pitch.
The Athletics officially selected Gage Jump on May 26.
Analysis
While the future Athletics offense is very bright, thanks to the likes of Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, and others waiting in the wings, the team has been waiting for the youth movement to come on the mound.
Jump is one of several pitchers who are part of that wave, which also includes fellow left-handers Jamie Arnold and Wei-En Lin.
The 23-year-old was the closest of those three to the Majors heading into 2026, and there’s wasn’t much left to prove down in the Minors. In terms of the highly valued whiff metric. Jump excelled in all facets. Every single pitch that Jump threw this season — from March until now — had a Whiff% above 30%.
That should be music to the years of fans.
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