Mark Kotsay on Inexperienced, But Thriving, Bullpen

Jason Burke | Aug 5, 2024

Jul 25, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Tyler Ferguson (65) pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's have been having success in finding relievers this season. With a cast of arms that not many outside Oakland could name outside of Mason Miller, the A's rank 8th in MLB with a 3.67 ERA among their relievers.

Miller was named the A's lone All Star representative, and he has certainly made a name for himself sitting in the triple digits with his fastball, as well blowing away some of the game's best hitters like Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Shohei Ohtani on big stages.

Behind him the A's had Lucas Erceg, whom the A's acquired last season before he'd debuted in the big leagues, and after a solid first half he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

With Miller on the IL, and Erceg in K.C., the only piece of the late-inning mix that has been around all sesson is Austin Adams, a late spring addition that made it to Oakland for the spring game at the Coliseum. He has carved out a role in big spots all year, putting up a 3.99 ERA and striking out 49 batters in 39 1/3 innings.

Adams has spent parts of every season in the big leagues since 2017, but his 53 appearances this year account for 28.6% of all his work in the bigs.

30-year-old rookie Tyler Ferguson made his big-league debut in May, and was optioned back to Triple-A in June, spending the month in Las Vegas. He was recalled in July, and has now become the preferred choice in the ninth inning. He recorded his first save on July 25, and while a three-run homer to Ohtani on Friday night inflated his ERA to 4.73 on the year, he has looked good more often than not in the role.

Another rookie, 27-year-old Michel Otañez, is beginning to work his way into the late-inning mix of late, too. On Sunday he worked the seventh, and struck out both Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández. His 97.7 average fastball velo ranks in the 96th percentile among all pitchers.

A's manager Mark Kotsay said of Otañez after Sunday's game, "The biggest thing for Otañez is going to be throwing strikes. When he throws strikes, his stuff is front-line stuff. He's got a great four-seam fastball, and he plays the two-seamer off it." In his at-bat against Ohtani, Otañez didn't throw a single strike, getting the Japanese superstar to swing at three sliders down and in. "His velo, when it's in the zone, it makes those other pitches really good, which we saw today."

We asked Kotsay how he makes a determination of when these inexperienced guys with great stuff are ready to start pitching in the seventh, eighth, and ninth.

"I think the Otañez inning is how we approach it. We're down by one. It's an inning that we feel the matchups were good for him, and he comes in and has a good, clean, quick inning. Building those guys in that way, trying to somewhat ease them in, if possible. [Otañez] has battled for what he's gotten. You can see the emotion, you can see the fearlessness of him when he's out there. You try to take those subjective viewpoints and line them with the objective ones."