A’s manager Mark Kotsay made something of a surprise announcement Friday, telling reporters that young southpaw Kyle Muller will get the ball on opening day.
The 25-year-old Muller was acquired in the Sean Murphy trade this past offseason and was regarded as the Atlanta Braves top prospect at the time of the deal. After injuries to Paul Blackburn (finger) and Drew Rucinski (hamstring), Muller got the nod over other candidates like James Kaprielian, Shintaro Fujinami, Ken Waldichuk or JP Sears.
Muller will get to face the Los Angeles Angels and duel Shohei Ohtani, who is fresh off his epic duel with Mike Trout in the World Baseball Classic final.
“We’re excited about his future,” Kotsay said of Muller, via A’s media relations. “Kyle, in our mind, is gonna be in this rotation for a long time. He’s put his work in to get to this point.”
It would have been a huge spectacle to see Ohtani vs. his Japanese rival Fujinami, but Fuji is slated to pitch Saturday and the A's would like to keep him on six or seven days' rest. The A's could use a six-man rotation to keep Fuji's workload down this season.
Kotsay said he broke the news to Muller earlier this week, as the young southpaw is trying to establish himself amongst a crowded stable of starting pitchers.
“I think he mighta thought I was sending him down,” Kotsay said with a laugh. “In all seriousness, an emotional moment. I wish it was recorded because I know everybody loves to capture that. Something I’ll never forget as a manager.”
Muller posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 159 strikeouts and 40 walks in 23 Triple-A starts last year, before getting knocked around (8.03 ERA) in three MLB starts with the Braves.
In his final spring training tune-up Friday, Muller got knocked around by the Chicago White Sox. He gave up a leadoff homer to Yoan Moncada en route to four first-inning runs. He flashed a 96 mph fastball and big, breaking ball – retiring seven straight at one point – but also gave up a homer to end his afternoon. Muller went 3.2 inning, giving up 10 hits, eight runs (four earned) with a walk and five strikeouts.
Aside from their rotation, the A’s are relatively healthy with the regular season approaching. They will wrap up Cactus League action against the Brewers on Saturday before hosting the Giants at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday afternoon and heading to Oracle Park for a Monday night game.
