Puk shut down for a few days with mild left shoulder strain
GLENDALE, ARIZ. >> A.J. Puk was, by all accounts, breezing through his first few spring training starts. But manager Bob Melvin first told Chris Townsend on A’s Cast that Puk is dealing with a mild left shoulder strain and was shut down for four to five days.
“We’re obviously going to be proactive, especially at this time of spring,” Melvin said after the A’s 6-5 win over the Chicago
White Sox on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch in Glendale.
Puk was dealing with some soreness and had an MRI, which found no structural damage. Puk is two days into the allotted shut down, and he should start playing catch after that.
Puk has pitched three shutout innings with two strikeouts, two hits and one walk so far in spring. His velocity has been at its typical ticks out of the gate — high90s fastball and a high-80s slider.
Melvin said he doesn’t expect the injury to be significant, but any set-back could slow Puk’s progression toward being ready to start in the regular season’s rotation.
CHRIS BASSITT VS. HIS FORMER TEAM >> It’s spring, but A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt has said he always feels extra competitive adrenaline flow when he faces the Chicago White Sox — the team that traded him to the A’s along with Josh Phegley, Marcus Semien and Rangel Ravelo back in 2014.
Bassitt allowed two runs on a Nicky Delmonico home run in the first inning on a two-seamer away that landed just over the fence in deep center.
“Standard F8 in almost any game except for an Arizona game,” Bassitt said. After that homer, Bassitt didn’t give up another hit in three innings. He walked two and didn’t record a strikeout.
“It’s been terrific for us,” Melvin said. “I’ve only seen him play really well. He’s taking a lot of
coaching from us and trying to make the team. He’s electric. He’s got a club in his bag most guys don’t.”
Backup catching option Jonah Heim had an RBI double and two other hits. He’s now batting .466 (7 for 15) this spring.
“All the positions we’ve been looking at, whether it’s backup catcher or sec- ond base, everyone’s played well. It’s good to see and you want that type of competition in camp,” Melvin said. JAMES KAPRIELIAN’S CONFIDENCE IS HIGH >> Not 24 hours after pitchers and catchers reported to Mesa for spring training, James Kaprielian fired off an encouraging tweet.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I’m confident in what I’m capable of,” Kapri- elian said at his locker in Mesa. “It’s just about get- ting healthy and repeating it now. That’s what I’m excited to do, I’m excited to show my teammates and staff what I’m capable of.”
The gaps in Kaprielian’s path to the big leagues are wide, and not subject to his control. The UCLA grad pitched just 29 innings in the New York Yankees system before his the elbow on his pitching arm started to cramp up in 2016.
The Southern California native was trudging through a tedious Tommy John rehabilitation when the Yankees swapped him, infielder Jorge Mateo and outfielder Dustin Fowler to the Oakland A’s for Sonny Gray. The right-handed pitcher was considered a high-level arm out of college. Despite his injury, Kaprielian kept his place among the Oakland A’s top prospects.
Kaprielian returned to the mound last season. His 4.71 ERA over 11 games for the Class A Stockton Ports pushed him to the DoubleA Midland RockHounds, where he held a 1.63 ERA over seven games. He finished 2019 with the tripleA Las Vegas Aviators.
Despite injury, he was destined for the fast track to the high minors. But, back in camp, Kaprielian is still sorting through his mechanical kinks and settling into a calm mental state.
“The mental side is the hardest part. For me, being away from the game is tough,” Kaprielian said. “That was just more time I had to stay away from the game. There’s bumps along the way. That’s part of it.”
It can take time to remember how his pitching motion, his body, moved at its best.
“This spring, mechanics are just starting. They’re not quite there yet, but are starting to get back to what they used to be,” he said. Kaprielian’s battled with his front side trying to get a good, familiar extension. He’s trying to avoid being overly rotational.
Familiarization with his motion on the mound compounds with slight lingering injury fears.
Fear might be the wrong word, Kaprielian says. Dealing with injury coaxes him to compensate for the pain he once felt. He might change his motion in a subconscious effort to avoid aggravating his injury.
To get through the tough times, Kaprielian sought counsel from his family. “They know how much I want to be great at pitching. It’s nice to know they always have my back,” he said. But, mostly, he and his close friend and roommate, Matt Chapman, have taken responsibility for keeping each other in check.
“We hold each other accountable,” Kaprielian said. “He’s been that guy for me. He is where I want to be. He’s one guy who’s seen me pitch, so he holds me to high expectations and high standards.”
Kaprielian is calling his shot; this is the year. The rotation up in the big leagues might be too brimming with talent to carve a spot for him this year, but Kaprielian’s goal is to just have a healthy, strong season with the Aviators. Pure talent keeps him close in line for a big league debut, if the situation calls for it. His fastball velocity is ticking back up to its mid-90s sweet spot. He feels his injury-capacitated arm action is finding its groove. His pitches feel sharper.
“It’s really exciting, because all the work I’ve done in the last three years,” he said. “I can finally see it coming along. Whenever the time is, that’s out of my control. All I can do is prepare, be a good teammate and be better every day.” GRANT HOLMES’ FASTBALL COMMAND: A WORK IN PROGRESS >> They don’t teach fastball command in high school.
It’s been the biggest work in progress for A’s No. 14 pitching prospect Grant
Holmes.
“I haven’t been too fond of my fastball command here the last few years,” Holmes sid.
The 23-year-old right hander hasn’t had the time afforded to learn it, anyway. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Conway High School in South Carolina, traded to the A’s along with pitchers Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick back in 2016.
He hit the scene with a splash, striking out 117 batters with 56 walks in 103 innings with the Midland Rockhounds in 2015. He kept up that eye-popping strikeout-to-walk ratio through the low-minors.
But, that ratio began to regress to a mean as Holmes moved on to Triple-A Las Vegas. He knows command will be essential to elevating his game to the big-league level.
“As you get older, you need to learn how to pitch instead of throw, like I’ve been doing,” Holmes said.
Holmes has been focusing on throwing his fastball to certain thirds of the zone, as opposed to specific spots, to help him adjust with a little more mental ease.
“I haven’t been the command guy. I’ve had the stuff to get guys out,” Holmes said. “But at these higher levels, you need to be able to command the fastball at each side of the plate. You can have really good stuff, but you’re still going to get hit.”
The strikeout stuff includes a killer curveball — what he says is his best pitch — a sharp sinker and a slider. He’s seeing results with a cutter he developed last season. “It’s starting to become a go-to pitch in a jam,” he said. Holmes has a changeup, too.
“Still haven’t figured out a changeup for msyelf that I can go to when I’m behind or ahead in the count,” Holmes said. Changeup isn’t a pitch one learns in high school. Holmes is learning fast, though. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“When I get that, I can throw my fastball more and changeup to make my fastball better. And won’t have to command it as well.”