Oakland A’s: Cole Irvin pitched himself into the starting rotation
As we sift through spring training statistics we look at final tallies with a grain of salt. A lot of times these stats do not indicate what will happen in the regular season when games count. Regardless. If a pitcher is going to allow just ten hits in eighteen innings, while striking out 18, he needs the opportunity to pitch when the games matter. Cole Irvin has pitched himself into the starting rotation for the Oakland A’s.
With fifth starter Mike Fiers slated to begin the season on the injured list, there is a little uncertainty with who will fill the void for the Athletics pitching staff.
A.J. Puk? Daulton Jeffries? Wrong and wrong. The correct answer is Cole Irvin.
Cole Irvin was dealing in his latest start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and has earned the right to crack the starting rotation for the Oakland A’s.
Irvin saw time in the big leagues the previous two years with the Philadelphia Phillies, mostly pitching out of the bullpen. This winter the A’s purchased Irvin and added him to the stable of pitchers vying for a roster spot during spring training.
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The A’s have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough, and appear to have done so again. Irvin was recently facing a Dodgers team chalked full of big names, this wasn’t their “B lineup”, and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning. He struck out Mookie Betts, Justin Turner, and Cody Bellinger twice.
"I know it’s just a Spring Training game, but when you’re coming down to the end and you’re fighting for a spot, and you run up against the lineup like this and pitch in a fashion that he did, that carries a lot of weight,” Melvin said of Irvin. “That was an impressive outing. He’s been good all spring, but that was by far his best today and going into the game, he knew he had to be good."
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Of course, this wasn’t Game 7 of the World Series, though for a young player trying to earn a roster spot, there was pressure. Cole Irvin was up to the task and has earned the right to break camp with the Oakland A’s.