To say the Athletics hit the jackpot with their 2023 and 2024 first-round picks is an understatement.
They selected Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson sixth overall in 2023 and followed with Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz fourth overall in 2024.
Kurtz won American League Rookie of the Year in 2025, while Wilson placed second.
Now the spotlight shifts to 2025 first-round lefthander Jamie Arnold, selected 11th overall out of Florida State.
Could he be next to follow the same fast track?
“Physically, I’m ready for it,” Arnold said. “I’ve gotten better this offseason. I’ve been able to work on a couple of pitches, and this is the best I’ve ever felt.”
While training at Driveline in Florida this winter, Arnold has expanded his repertoire, adding both a cutter and a kick changeup to complement his already developed split changeup.
The additions give him a deeper, more versatile arsenal—one headlined by a mid-90s fastball and a devastating mid-80s sweeping slider—positioning him to attack hitters with multiple looks at every level.
But what makes Arnold dominant is his delivery. He comes at batters with a three-quarters arm slot paired with a low release height and an explosive, athletic delivery. He’s been compared to Chris Sale, despite being five inches shorter than the 2024 Cy Young Award winner.
“Hearing my name compared to his is pretty cool,” Arnold said. “When I was coming up, I was never really a great pitcher. I was always just pretty average, so when that started happening, it was astonishing.”
When Arnold met with the A’s at the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix in June, the meeting was brief because the team didn’t think he would be available when it was their turn.
Now, he joins an A’s pitching prospect group led by lefthanders Gage Jump and Wei-En Lin.
“We were very fortunate that Jaime got to us,” A’s scouting director Eric Kubota said. “He’s been successful, but he’s really focused on trying to get better and trying to use all the tools at his disposal to get better.”