Four A's minor leaguers that touched 100 mph in 2024

Jason Burke | Oct 7, 2024

Aug 17, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Michel Otanez (47) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

During the A's end-of-season meeting with the press, manager Mark Kotsay expressed a desire to add some pitchers with a little more swing-and-miss heading into the 2025 season. With the team moving into a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento, the ball is expected to fly a little more than it did at the Coliseum, so some swing-and-miss would be helpful in limiting the number of home runs given up.

Over at Baseball America, they released a list of the 90 prospects that threw 100 miles per hour in the minors this past season, and the A's had four players on that list. Now, velocity doesn't always mean strikeouts. There are plenty of guys on the full list that also had high walk rates which made them somewhat ineffective pitchers overall, but they had velo!

Here are the four prospects in the A's system that topped triple digits.

Michel Otañez - 102.4 mph, four-seamer

Aug 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Michel Otanez (47) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Otañez actually made his big-league debut with the Oakland A's in June, geting into one game before getting sent down to the minors. He was back up in July for good, and with Eminem's "Lose Yourself" blaring over the Coliseum speakers when he'd come in to pitch, he held a 3.44 ERA out of the bullpen for the Athletics, striking out 55 batters in 34 innings of work.

He did also issue 20 walks in that time, giving him a walk rate of 13.2% on the year. In August he had a little more command, only walking two batters in 13 2/3 innings, but he also held a 4.61 ERA. In September he walked nine batters in 10 1/3 innings and held a 0.87 ERA. This is likely small sample size randomness, but an interesting tidbit to keep an eye on just in case.

Jackson Finley - 100.5 mph, four-seamer

Stockton Ports' Jackson Finley delivers a pitch during the Ports' home opener against the Modesto Nuts at the Stockton Ballpark in downtown Stockton on Apr. 5, 2024. / CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jackson Finley, 24, was selected by the A's in the eighth round of the 2023 Draft out of Georgia Tech, and spent the entire 2024 season in A Ball with the Stockton Ports. He pitched in 25 games, making 15 starts and struck out 94 batters in 83 1/3 innings of work. He also walked 42 and hit 12, which led to a 1.63 WHIP.

While Finley struggled in his first season of pro ball, holding a 5.62 ERA, he did seem to turn a corner over the course of the final month of the season, holding a 3.27 ERA in August, which included a run in his last three starts where he allowed one run or fewer each time out.

Danis Correa - 100.1 mph, four-seam

Feb 23, 2024; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Danis Correa (87) poses during Photo Day at Mesa Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Correa, 25, signed with the A's as a minor-league free agent last winter after spending eight seasons in the Chicago Cubs' system and a brief stint with the Cincinnati Reds at the end of 2023. He started the year in Triple-A Las Vegas, striking out six batters in his first three innings of work, but he also walked eight batters in that span, and in his fourth and final outing didn't record an out.

He missed a little over a month from the beginning of April to the end of May, and was back with the Double-A Midland RockHounds in June, where he'd stay through July. He put up a 1.47 ERA in Midland across 18 1/3 innings, striking out 17 and walking six. Correa spent the final month of his season in Vegas, getting into seven games, tossing 8 2/3 innings and holding a 7.27 ERA.

Ryan Cusick - 100 mph, four-seamer

Oct 26, 2022; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Ryan Cusick for the Mesa Solar Sox during an Arizona Fall League baseball game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Cusick, 24, was originally a first round selection by the Atlanta Braves out of Wake Forest back in 2021. He was notably traded to the A's as part of the package in the Matt Olson deal, which also included catcher Shea Langeliers, outfielder Cristian Pache, and righty Joey Estes.

Cusick spent the majority of his 2024 season in Midland where he pitched 56 1/3 innings to the tune of a 4.47 ERA in 27 games (eight starts). He made a couple of starts in April, then missed some time, and when he was ready to come back was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas because they needed a fresh arm. He made two appearances out of the bullpen for them, eating up 4 1/3 innings total.

He returned to Midland in the middle of June, and after struggling through five starts with the 'Hounds, he was moved to the bullpen for the rest of the season. As a relief pitcher he held a 2.97 ERA across 30 1/3 innings, and that includes the two outings in Vegas. In 19 appearances out of the 'pen for Midland, Cusick allowed an earned run to score just three times.