What to Expect from Athletics Starter Luis Medina

Amidst the Athletics’ struggles on the mound, Oakland is set to give another one of its young prospects a look at the Major League level. 23-year-old right-hander Luis Medina has been promoted to the A’s, a move that will give Oakland fans a look at one of the most intriguing, yet high-risk pitching prospects in all of professional baseball. Here’s a closer look at the new Athletics right-hander.

A Look at Medina

Former Yankees pitching prospect Luis Medina has been on the radar for quite some time, dating back to his days in the lower Minors in 2016 and 2017. The right-hander boasted a lethal fastball that would touch triple digits along with a strong breaking ball, and posted K/9 rates north of 9.0 in 2017-18.

Medina moved up to full-season ball in 2019, and struck out 127 batters over 103.2 innings pitched. Yet, he recorded a 5.47 ERA, thanks in large part to poor command. In the return to play in 2021, Medina looked more like a real pitching prospect. The 23-year-old breezed through Hudson Valley (A+) before getting a promotion to Somerset (AA), and he posted a respectable 3.39 ERA across 106.1 IP in 2021 between the two levels. Medina continued to elicit a ton of whiffs in Somerset in 2022, before being traded to the Oakland organization last summer.

The 23-year-old owns two plus pitches in a slower curveball to go along with his aforementioned triple digit fastball. Medina also owns a changeup to pair with that heater. The A’s righty struck out 468 batters over 397.1 IP (10.6 K/9) MiLB innings, but his BB/9 (6.3) is quite high, as well.

It’s not a given that Medina will be a starter long-term. While Oakland will give him every chance to be a starter, Medina’s control could push him into a relief role if it continues to be a problem. The righty, though, owns premium stuff, hence the push to keep him as a starter.

Medina was one of three players that moved from New York to Oakland in the deal that sent Frankie Montas to The Bronx. Ironically, the corresponding move for Medina’s roster spot was the demotion of James Kaprielian. Kaprielian, much like Medina, moved from the Yankees to the A’s via a 2017 trade that sent Sonny Gray to New York.

A Look at the Rotation

The promotion of Medina marks the second notable pitcher to be promoted from Las Vegas (AAA) to Oakland in the past week. Just a few days earlier, Oakland promoted fellow fireballer Mason Miller to the Majors. Miller’s first start went fine by and large, as he struck out five Cubs on April 19 over 4.1 IP.

The A’s rotation was been highly ineffective thus far for an Oakland team that currently owns the worst team ERA (7.98) in all of Major League Baseball. Ken Waldichuk and Kyle Muller own ERA figures north of 7.00, while Kaprielian gave up 23 earned runs over 16 innings prior to his demotion. Free agent pickup Shintaro Fujinami, meanwhile, has been shifted to the bullpen after a tough start that’s largely due to poor command.

Whether Medina, a very talented hurler but one with his own command problems, can be an answer for the A’s remains to be seen.