Expectations High For A’s Rookie Starter Jharel Cotton

Twenty-five-year-old Jharel Cotton is now slated to be the Oakland Athletics’ number three starter, at least during the absence of Sonny Gray who is out until at least May with a lat strain.

The expectations are definitely high for the Oakland Athletics‘ rookie, but they are expectations that it appears he will easily be able to live up to.

Last season Cotton was called up to the big league club in September, making his MLB debut on September 7 against the Los Angeles Angels.

He was very impressive allowing just two hits and one run while pitching into the seventh inning.

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The only run came on a solo shot to right by C.J. Cron who was almost robbed of it by Brett Eibner.

He walked just two batters while striking out three and got his first big league win.

In his second start Cotton didn’t get the win, but pitched well allowing just one earned run.

He ended up with a no-decision thanks to two unearned runs allowed by the A’s defense, but it was in this second start that his extraordinary changeup took center stage.

Cotton’s changeup is unlike any you will ever see.

He throws it so slowly that it is often 20 MPH slower than his low-mid 90’s fastball and can be extremely deceptive to hitters.

“Cotton throws a circle change,” I wrote, after seeing him pitch last year, “that moves like a screwball, partially because of his small stature. At just 5’11”, Cotton has to use a higher arm slot than a more traditional pitcher, who is often much taller and can create a deceptive plane simply due to their extra height. Cotton uses an overhand delivery that makes his changeup difficult to pick up.”

His changeup, which is often slower than most pitchers’ arching 12-6 curve balls, runs down and in.

While most pitchers wouldn’t use it often against right-handers, Cotton’s is so slow and has so much movement that the majority of hitters, regardless of what side of the plate they bat from, simply don’t know what to do with it.

Cotton finished the 2016 season having made five starts. He went 2-0 over 29.1 innings, allowing just seven earned runs while racking up 23 strikeouts and allowing only four walks.

Besides his fastball and changeup, Cotton actually has a four pitch repertoire that also includes a curveball and a seldomly used slider.

Even though he has such an amazing changeup Cotton understands the importance of his other pitches, especially his fastball.

So far this spring Cotton is 3-0 in five starts. His spring ERA (4.86) is a bit elevated compared to how he has performed.

This was mostly due to his fourth start against the Seattle Mariners, in which he allowed five runs (and five walks) in just 3 2/3 innings but Cotton believes he has figured out what went wrong.

In the game against Seattle, Cotton hadn’t allowed a run until after the Athletics had a six-run third-inning and Cotton was forced to sit there and just watch, allowing his arm to really have time to cool down.

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However, in his next start this past Sunday, when the A’s had a five-run third inning and scored another four runs in the fourth, Cotton decided to change things up a bit.

Instead of just sitting in the dugout, he kept loose by playing catch while his teammates were building on their lead.

This time he held the Milwaukee Brewers to just four hits and one walk while amassing seven strikeouts.

It was a good outing to have just before the start of the regular season.

“I didn’t want to do what I did last time where I sat the entire time and my arm was just lagging,” Cotton said. “Today I was proactive, playing catch to stay loose, and I didn’t skip a beat out there on the mound … I think this was a bounce back start for me.”

The only run Cotton allowed in Sunday’s game was a fourth inning home run to Ryan Braun, but he struck Braun in both the first and fifth innings and later said he felt he’d won that battle.

All indications point to Cotton being ready to be a big league pitcher and do well in his role as the A’s number three starter.

The expectations based on Cotton’s performances up until this point are quite high but Cotton seems confident and talented enough to live up to the challenge and even exceed those expectations.

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