Former New York Mets Prospect to Make First MLB Start

Jason Burke | Aug 29, 2024

Aug 21, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher J.T. Ginn (70) reacts after striking out the side in his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays /during the eighth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Former New York Mets prospect J.T. Ginn is set to make his first MLB start with the Oakland Athletics on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Ginn was acquired by the A's in 2022 as part of the return for starter Chris Bassitt, along with Adam Oller, who is now pitching for the Miami Marlins. The 25-year-old right-hander made his MLB debut on August 21 against the Tampa Bay Rays, coming out of the bullpen to work two scoreless frames, walking one and striking out three.

He made a second appearance on Saturday against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, giving up one hit and two walks which led to a run in his 1 2/3 innings of work. Between the two outings, his ERA sits at 2.45.

One interesting tidbit from the small sample size is that Ginn has allowed a -0.5 degree launch angle on average on eight batted balls. Heading into his first career start against the Reds in an extreme hitter's park, that could be a very useful skill. The key in this outing will be limiting free passes. Walks were an issue in his 22 1/3 innings in Double-A Midland a year ago, when he walked 12% of the batters he faced, but he has been better in the minors this year, posting rates of 7.6% in Midland and 9.2% in Las Vegas.

In his last start in the minors, Ginn mixed three pitches fairly evenly, while relying most heavily on his sinker. He threw that offering 40% of the time against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, while going 29% sliders and 23% changeups. He also sprinkled in seven four-seamers, which accounted for seven percent of his mix.

In his two outings out of the A's bullpen, he has yet to throw a slider to a left-hander, with all 17 going to righties. The heat map for that pitch shows that he aims for the lower inside corner to right-handers, either inside, or just below the zone.

The Reds boast two regular left-handers in TJ Friedl and Dominic Smith, as well as switch-hitter Elly De La Cruz. That should mean that Ginn will be able to use his full arsenal of pitches more often than not against this Cincinnati lineup.

First pitch is at 2:10 p.m. PST with Ginn taking on 23-year-old Julian Aguilar.