Updates on Paul Blackburn, James Kaprielian

Both Oakland starting pitchers are recovering from injuries entering Spring Training

Paul Blackburn ended the season the IL after it was revealed he had a tear of his flexor tendon sheath on his pithing hand. 

Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle caught up with Blackburn on the first day of Spring Training, and was told he is doing well, and that the A's righty has thrown off a mound 4 or 5 times already. He also doesn't feel behind at all entering camp. 

The Chronicle beat writer also caught up with James Kaprielian, who had shoulder surgery in October.

James Kaprielian said his October shoulder procedure on the AC joint was "pretty non-invasive" and the shoulder is "coming along." He said he has thrown off a mound three times before camp and hopes to be ready to start the season.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) February 15, 2023

If both Blackburn and Kaprielian are healthy, they're nearly locks to be in the rotation. The other near locks entering camp are Shintaro Fujinami and Drew Rucinski. From there, it would appear that Ken Waldichuk and Kyle Muller would battle it out for the fifth and final spot in the A's rotation. I recently tried to predict the A's Opening Day roster, and gave the nod to Waldichuk. 

If either Kaprielian or Blackburn were to suffer a setback to their recovery, that would open the door for Muller (or Waldichuk), Adam Oller, or Adrián Martínez. 

26-year-old prospect Hogan Harris is also on the 40-man roster and dominated Lansing and Midland last season, but could use more time in Triple-A, where he posted a 6.35 ERA in 28.1 innings, coupled with a 1.69 WHIP. 

Harris had missed the entire 2018 and 2021 seasons due to injury, and also missed the 2020 season due to the pandemic. Before last season he'd only pitched professionally in 2019 with both Stockton, then the A's High-A affiliate, and Vermont, then the A's Low-A affiliate. Harris pitched in 15 games and made 13 starts between the two levels in 2019, tallying 54.2 innings and racking up a 2.80 ERA and a 0.933 WHIP. 

Two other arms to keep an eye on that won't make the Opening Day rotation, but could be in Oakland this season are Luis Medina, acquired as part of the Frankie Montas trade, and Mason Miller, one of the A's top pitching prospects. 

Medina is on the 40-man roster as well, but his big question mark right now is his command. He can touch 102 with his fastball, so his stuff plays. It's just a matter of keeping it in the zone. 

MIller, who's not on the 40-man, gained some national notoriety this off-season while pitching in the Arizona Fall League, going 1-1 with a 3.64 ERA over 16.2 innings. He racked up 20 strikeouts and walked just four, leading to a 0.780 WHIP against some tough competition. The key for him will be staying healthy and stockpiling innings.