Joe Boyle's Walk Total Starting to Pile Up in Oakland A's Camp

The Oakland A's presumed fifth starter has been struggling with his control in recent outings

Coming into camp, right-hander Joe Boyle was one of the players in contention for the fifth spot in the Oakland A's rotation. When Luis Medina went down due to a right knee sprain, the competition seemed to be over after Boyle got off to a hot start this spring. But over his past three starts, he's been walking more and more guys, so his spot on the roster may not be as solid as we once thought. 

Boyle is still pitching effectively, holding a 2.93 ERA across 15 1/3 innings this spring, but it's the 12 walks in that same span that are a little worrisome, and they've all come in his last three outings. In those three starts, he's worked ten innings and has struck out ten, giving him more walks than strikeouts in that time. 

If there is one thing that has been talked about a lot this camp, it's just how bad the A's pitching staff was at the beginning of the year in 2023, which made it hard to ever have enough fresh arms to get through a day. In one game against the Mets, A's pitchers walked 17. 

If there is one thing that the coaching staff would like to try and avoid, it's handing out free passes. This isn't to say that he won't make the team anymore, but perhaps the coaching staff is leaning towards using Rule 5 pick Mitch Spence in the rotation instead of as a long man. Spence has walked just four batters in 13 innings, but he also holds a 4.15 ERA. In terms of FIP, which tells us how well the guy on the mound is pitching as far as what he can control, Spence actually has the slight edge at 3.65 to 4.00. 

One thing that is working in Boyle's favor despite the walks, is that he has only allowed seven hits in his 15 plus innings. If for some reason Boyle isn't the fifth starter and is instead optioned to Triple-A to fine-tune his command, then that would open up a spot in the 'pen for one of a number of veteran non-roster invites looking for an opportunity. 

The likely answer is that Boyle gets the first crack at the number five spot, but that walk total will be important to keeping him in the rotation long-term.