A’s takeaways: A.J. Puk’s command of concern in second spring outing
"As far as velocity goes, it is what it is, we'll see if that ticks up a little bit. But the most concerning thing for me today was, at times, missing by a large margin."
MESA, Ariz. — We’re rounding into the final week of Cactus League play, where starting pitchers are going deeper into the games, spring phenomena are starting to fade into normalcy, eye-popping stats are falling back down to earth and teams are taking their final form.
The A’s ended in a 4-4 tie against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Hohokam Stadium, and some key performances on the mound could tell us more about what we’ll see in the regular season. Here are some takeaways.
A.J. Puk has rough outing
The 25-year-old lefty was roughed up in his second appearance of spring, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings with two walks and a strikeout.
Parts of the strenuous outing wasn’t his fault. Corner outfielders Ka’ai Tom and Tony Kemp couldn’t get to some high pop-ups that landed for hits. Mark Canha lost a fly ball in the sun that landed at the wall for a double.
But Puk went through struggles of his own. His fastball velocity sat at 91-93 mph with one or two that hit 94 mph; Puk averaged 97 mph on his fastball during his 2019 debut out of the bullpen. He also was missing his spots.
“Not his best command, he was missing by at times a wide margin, whether his breaking ball or fastball,” Manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s his second time out, but he needs to command it a little better. As far as velocity goes, it is what it is, we’ll see if that ticks up a little bit.
“But the most concerning thing for me today was, at times, missing by a large margin.”
Puk should have another outing before camp breaks, and staying healthy is of utmost importance coming off two injury-plagued seasons . But his bumpy landing into game action could mean Puk will, at best, start the year coming out of the bullpen.
Jesús Luzardo bounces back
Luzardo looks a little different on the mound this spring. It has nothing to do with his delivery, but he’s got a new look. The 23-year-old lefty stopped wearing his sports goggles on the mound, opting to wear contact lenses.
“It was weird at the beginning,” Luzardo said. “But now it’s so much easier not worrying about them if they fog up or something. I’d much rather pitch without them now.”
The goggles-to-contacts switcharoo helped some, but a renewed confidence in his breaking ball has boosted Luzardo’s performance this spring. He bounced back from a rough outing against the Diamondbacks last week with a stronger one against the same team (albeit, a different lineup) on Monday, going 4.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and three hits allowed.
“Performance-wise it was definitely better than the last one,” Luzardo said. “Pitch-wise, a couple of my pitches were still off breaking ball-wise, but I’m glad I was able to overcome that and use my fastball and changeup and a few good ones.”
Melvin said he was impressed with Luzardo’s breaking pitches — one got a strikeout. But he was most pleased with Luzardo’s fastball command and elevation. That was Luzardo’s goal this time around.
“My last start I got breaking ball happy,” Luzardo said. “This start we focused on using the fastball more, making it a weapon and it ended up working out.”
Luzardo will get one more outing, either in a game or in a simulated game, before camp breaks next week.
Lou Trivino
Keep an eye on Trivino this year. He looks very much like his 2018 self this spring. He’s hitting 97-98 mph on his fastball and his cutter and breaking ball look effective.
He’s hasn’t given up a run in five innings this spring while collecting eight strikeouts with one hit and three walks.
Ka’ai Tom
After just five games, Tom looks on the cusp to solidify his spot on the roster as the A’s fourth outfielder.
Tom tripled on Monday and is now 8-for-16 with four extra-base hits, including a home run.
“It’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Melvin said. “When you draft a guy Rule 5, it means your intent is to keep. Granted it was a while back and we made some moves since, but he’s doing exactly what he was profiled to do. He’s going to get more at bats, he’s going to get a chance to impress. This is a big time in his career. He’s trying to stick on a big league team and so far he’s doing a good job of it.”