Inside The As

Joey Estes Tosses a Maddux

Jason Burke

Jul 3, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Joey Estes (68) reacts after striking out Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward for the final out of a complete game shutout at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 3, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Joey Estes (68) reacts after striking out Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward for the final out of a complete game shutout at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
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Oakland A's right-hander Joey Estes was thrust in the the starting rotation as injuries began to mount during May, but the 22-year-old has shown glimpses of the kind of pitcher he could become. He's been compared to former A's and Atlanta Braves starter Tim Hudson for being a bulldog on the mound. On Wednesday night at the Coliseum, Estes tossed a complete game shutout of the Los Angeles Angels on just 92 pitches. That my friends is what they call a Maddux.

Heading into his tenth start of the year, Estes held a 5.24 ERA on the season and had pitched pretty well in a homecoming of sorts for the Palmdale native in his last outing. He held the Angels scoreless for the first five frames in that one, but ran into a litle trouble that got him lifted with two outs in the sixth. The bullpen came in and allowed the two inherited runners to score (plus a few more).

Last night, Estes didn't bother letting the bullpen phone ring.

After the game he told reporters that he wasn't really thinking about going all the way when he was out there. "Obviously it's something you'd like to do, but you're just trying to go out there and execute and get ahead of every hitter. Especially with my defense working behind me, I can't go CG if my defense doesn't make those plays that they made."

With his Maddux, Estes lowered his ERA to 4.39 on the season, dropping it by nearly a full run. He gave up just five hits and one walk while striking out four.

Not only is Estes linked to the Braves with his start last night being named after one of Atlanta's best pitchers of all time, but he is also a former prospect in that system. Estes came to the A's as part of the Matt Olson deal along with A's catcher Shea Langeliers.

While many fans in Oakland weren't pleased by the Olson trade, understandably so given the frequency of such deals of fan favorites, the duo of Langelies and Estes has actually outperformed Olson this season in terms of fWAR. Olson is sitting at 0.8 WAR in the midst of a down year, while Shea has put up 1.1 WAR and has collected more home runs (15 to 12) than the former A's first baseman.

While his WAR total hasn't factored in last night's game just yet, Estes was sitting with 0.5 wins above replacement heading into the game through nine starts. Throwing a Maddux will likely get him a bit closer to Olson's total.

What has been impressive about Estes' development is that his last four starts have come against just two teams--the Twins and Angels. He has faced each team on the road, then again at home for his next outing. His first start of this stretch was in Minnesota, and it didn't go well. He went just 2 2/3 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits, a walk, and a couple of homers. Five days later he faced them again and went six innings, giving up just two runs.

Estes has had a couple of clunkers this season, including that start in Minnesota, and another in Houston where he gave up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings, but he has also thrown up a one-hitter in 6 1/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners, and has kept the A's in the game more times than not.

A's manager Mark Kotsay has been speaking of the development of some of these young guys all season long, and how there will be peaks and valleys during that development process. Estes has certainly experienced both, but he is showing more and more what he could be at this level.

Whether it's in Sacramento, Las Vegas, or the moon, Joey Estes is going to go out there and give his team a chance every time out.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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