Puk has starter stuff, but when will he start?
MESA, ARIZ. >> Billy Beane made it clear this offseason that the A’s are going to take their time with pitching phenom A.J. Puk until he’s fully ready for the big leagues.
Manager Bob Melvin has been careful not to set unrealistic expectations on the big left-hander this spring, but with each bullpen session, Puk’s spectacular talents become as enticing as a new Ferrari just waiting to be driven.
Puk, 22, is expected to begin the regular season in the minors, but after watching his second bullpen of the spring on Sunday, Melvin was once again raving about Puk’s overall ability.
“That’s not my job when they get here,” Melvin said. “Obviously when you get into games, you don’t want to get a guy there before he’s ready. But when we first got him, to see where he is right now, it’s tempting not to say, ‘Let’s just start with him.’”
After Puk was drafted sixth overall in 2016, the A’s wondered if Puk’s power arm could be better suited for the bullpen, perhaps as a closer.
Those debates have been laid to rest this spring. Puk entered camp having proven to the organization he has developed four quality major league pitches. While Puk could initially get some run out of the bullpen, ala Sonny Gray in his 2013 call up, there’s no question what type of role Puk will have in the majors.
The primary question: When will he arrive?
“Now obviously he’s gonna be a starter for us,” Melvin said. “I know Billy likes to get them here and try to get them in a couple of controlled situations where he can have some success.
“Get a little bit of a taste of it, then when he comes back when you really need him, he’s ready for it and has got some experience with it,” Melvin continued. “Who knows? But he may push his way here in a hurry in a starting role.” TRIVINO STANDS OUT >> It’s hard to stand out among the bevy of pitchers throwing bullpens in spring practice, but Lou Trivino has managed to do so twice in the last week.
Trivino, 26, impressed Melvin with a blazing fastball that was clocked around 97 mph.
“That was probably the best bullpen today of the younger guys,” Melvin said. “His secondary pitches were good. When you have that type of fastball with movement, that’s a difficult one to deal with. He had another really good bullpen today.”
Already on the A’s 40man roster, Trivino seemed destined to make it to Oakland last season, but he spent the year at DoubleA and Triple-A.
MELVIN PREPPING FOR RULE CHANGE >> With league decisions on changes to speed up the pace of play looming in the next week, Melvin is bracing for the impact it may have on how he handles pitchers.
The A’s will meet with Joe Torre, MLB Executive vice president of baseball operations, in the coming week to learn of the rule changes that will be made.
One of the potential changes would include limiting the number of mound visits during a game. What concerns Melvin about this, is if MLB also begins to consider a visit from an infielder as an official visit.
Melvin sees both sides of the issue. There is a segment of fans out there that enjoys watching longer games, while others believe they are dragging on too long.
“It is the only timeless game, which I think is cool. They are getting long. I think we’re at a point where people like baseball, and we want to keep it that way,” Melvin said.
“Being a guy that plays the game and loves the sport for what it is, there’s maybe some uncomfortableness to it,” Melvin continued, “but you try to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes and understand we’re trying to keep a group and incorporate more people to watch the game. I understand why we’re doing it.”