A's No. 14 prospect Hoglund expected to make MLB debut Friday vs. Miami
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ARLINGTON -- Amid ongoing difficulties at the bottom of their starting rotation, the Athletics plan to call up No. 14 prospect Gunnar Hoglund and start him Friday night in Miami, where he will make his Major League debut against the Marlins.
Hoglund has been impressive in six starts for Triple-A Las Vegas this season, with a 2.43 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings.
“He's thrown the ball pretty well in Triple-A, and we liked what we saw out of him in Spring Training,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “This is a kid that we targeted in the [Matt] Chapman deal. This will be his first time out in the big leagues, and we're excited about it for him. We do feel he’s pitched well enough to be here. You don’t just bring someone up just to call him up. For us, it’s a good situation to have some depth and, obviously, give him his opportunity and get a look at him here.”
The 25-year-old right-handed Hoglund is a two-time first-round MLB Draft pick. The Pirates selected him with the 36th overall pick in 2018. He chose to pitch in college -- for Ole Miss -- and then the Blue Jays picked him up with the 19th pick of the ‘21 Draft. He is the Athletics’ last vestige of the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto in March ‘22.
Elbow surgery sidelined Hoglund for most of the 2022 season, and he saw limited action in ‘23. But he put together a solid campaign last year for Double-A Midland, making 18 starts (19 appearances) and posting a 2.84 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings.
In his most recent outing in Triple-A on April 27, Hoglund allowed no runs with only three hits and two walks in five innings, striking out five.
“He's come a long way from the Tommy John [surgery] and rebuilding the velocity,” Kotsay said. “He pitched last year through the season with a little maybe lower velo. It will be fun to watch him tomorrow night and see how that adrenaline impacts that velocity.”
After Thursday’s 3-0 win over the Rangers, the A’s didn’t immediately announce a corresponding roster move to make room for Hoglund, although one will need to be made.