Boyle, who impressed in a trio of late-season starts in 2023, could have an edge for the No. 5 role in the Athletics' rotation to open the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Analysis: Gallegos reports general manager David Forst has already strongly implied that Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling -- the latter two veteran offseason additions -- will unsurprisingly slot into the top four spots in the rotation. Southpaw Ken Waldichuk (elbow) may eventually join that group when healthy, but he's not expected to be ready for the start of the season; therefore, Boyle, who went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.81 WHIP across his first three major-league starts last September, could slot into that No. 5 role coming out of spring training. However, he'll have some reasonably experienced competition, including holdovers Luis Medina, Freddy Tarnok (hip) and Adrian Martinez,
Joe Boyle Nabs another start
Boyle is listed as the Athletics' starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Tigers in Oakland, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Analysis: Boyle will receive another turn through Oakland's rotation after he struck out four over three scoreless innings in his first MLB start last Sunday against the Padres. He worked in tandem with Ken Waldichuk in his big-league debut, but with Waldichuk taking the hill for Friday's contest, Boyle could have the opportunity to make a more traditional start Saturday. Though the 24-year-old right-hander doesn't possess much of a pedigree as a prospect, he made plenty of bats miss between stops at the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season prior to his call-up, striking out 168 hitters over 117.1 innings.
Connect With Us: