Luis Medina's Second-Half Surge

Luis Medina has always had an electric arm, but it looks as though he's starting to put it all together in the second half

When the A's acquired Luis Medina as part of the return for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino in last year's deadline deal with the New York Yankees, he was looked at as an interesting piece in the trade. With JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk also involved in the deal, Medina was more of a hard-thrower with upside and command issues. 

At the time of the trade, Medina was walking five per nine innings, which is a little high. He started seven games for Double-A Midland to close out the season and walked 9.58 per nine, or more than a batter an inning, which is a lot high. With just one option season left in which to develop, 2023 was going to be a make-or-break season for Medina, who still hadn't reached Triple-A before the season began.

Partially out of necessity, the A's called him up for a start on April 26 in Anaheim, where he allowed eight runs (seven earned) in five innings and walked three. He was optioned back to Las Vegas where he started one game and pitched in relief in another, and on May 11 he was back in Oakland where he has been ever since.

The 24-year-old right-hander holds a 5.35 ERA in 15 games with the A's this season, but he seems to have really turned a corner in the three starts he's made since the All-Star break against the Red Sox, Astros, and Rockies. He's totaled 16 innings pitched in those three starts and holds a 1.69 ERA, has given up just 11 hits, walked four and struck out 18. In his start on Sunday in Colorado he didn't issue a single free pass for jus the second time this season. 

In that Colorado start he threw 30 sliders, and 18 of them were swung at. Of those 18 swings, 12 were whiffed on, good for a whiff% of 67%. Coming into the game, Medina ranked 28th in whiff rate on his slider at 44.3%, but after the game that whiff rate on the season went up to 50.4%, which will have him slotted eighth in all of baseball. 

Those 30 sliders were also the most of any pitch type that Medina threw on Sunday, followed by his 4-seam (30%), sinker (25%), changeup (8%), and curve (4%). 

While you may look at that one outing and come to the conclusion that he's throwing his slider more and that's leading to his success in the second half, that's not wholly accurate. In his start against Boston, it was his third-most used pitch, and against Houston 25 of his 93 pitches were sliders, but he also threw 36 four-seamers. 

The key in the second half seemingly has been being more unpredictable with his pitch selection. In that start against the Sox, he also threw his curveball 18% (slider was 19%) of the time and it was his sinker that led the way that day, followed by his four-seam. He's varying his pitches just enough to keep hitters off-balance, and when you throw 98 miles per hour and have a slider that is difficult to hit, getting ahead in the count and mixing pitches is a pretty effective strategy. 

With 55 games left in the season, it looks as though there could be another 11 starts left in 2023 for Medina. Obviously this is a pretty small sample over the course of a very long season, but it's glimpses like this that get can a fan base excited about next season. There are more things going on with the A's than just wins and losses these days, but all A's fans root for the players on the field, even with relocation in the back of their minds. 

A potential 2024 rotation headlined by Medina, Sears and Mason Miller could put the A's a little ahead of where they started this season. Add in Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom, Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Noda, and some of the other exciting young guys on the roster, and next season could end up being a more fun viewing experience.