The Athletics are calling up Gage Jump, one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Monday.
The No. 2 prospect in the A's system, Jump, 23, runs his fastball up to 97 mph and has struck out 56 in 38 innings at Triple-A Las Vegas.
The Athletics (27-27) are atop the American League West standings, but their pitching staff ranks in the bottom third in the majors in strikeout rate.
Ranked No. 42 in ESPN's preseason rankings of MLB prospects, Jump was a strong prospect out of high school with second-round interest whose price wasn't met, pushing him to UCLA. He threw 16â…“ innings before needing elbow surgery that knocked out the rest of his freshman year and all of his sophomore year before he transferred to LSU for his draft year in 2024. Jump finished that season strong, showing above-average stuff and strong data, but a limited track record of bulk innings and more solid-average off-speed stuff than any truly plus secondary pitch.
The A's gave him an overslot $2 million bonus at the 73rd pick and that paid off with a big 2025. Jump threw 112 2/3 innings, with his velocity spiking almost 2 mph, which helped firm up his above-average slider and curveball. His fastball remains his best pitch -- sitting 93-96 mph and touching 97 mph with plus shape.
Jump, who was the 73rd overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, is part of what's shaping up to be a very interesting draft class, with Travis Bazzana (Guardians, 1st overall pick), Chase Burns (Reds, No. 2), Nick Kurtz (A's, No. 4), Jac Caglianone (Royals, No. 6), JJ Wetherholt (Cardinals, No. 7), Christian Moore (Angels, No. 8), Konnor Griffin (Pirates, No. 9), Cam Smith (Cubs/Astros, No. 14), Carson Benge (Mets, No. 19) and Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays, No. 20) all currently on active rosters.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
