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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 2h ago
Elephant Rumblings: Barnett Getting The Start Tonight
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 18: Mason Barnett #63 of the Athletics pitches against the Los Angeles Angels at Sutter Health Park on June 18, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to Tuesday!
The squad got whacked in the first game of their series with the Rays last night, with the bullpen blowing yet another game that the Green & Gold should have won. When you’re up 6-2 in the eighth you don’t expect the final score to be a 10-6 loss. That’s just how this season has gone though. Fitting.
Anyways, the club is in need of a starting pitcher tonight and they’ve has settled on right-hander Mason Barnett:
Mason Barnett will start tomorrow for the A’s.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) August 11, 2026
In a lost season it’s at least encouraging to see the organization continuing to give their younger players a chance to pitch through their struggles in the big leagues. The former prize that the A’s received from Kansas City in exchange for reliever Lucas Erceg, Barnett has spent the past two years mostly in Triple-A with a few brief stints with the big league club. His first taste of Triple-A last year didn’t yield great results but the then-24 year old righty still managed to make his big league debut with five starts last September. The results, again, weren’t great but plenty of pitchers struggle a bit their first time in The Show and he was still young for a big league pitcher.
This season Barnett technically began in the hunt for a rotation spot but he predictably began the year as depth down in Las Vegas with the Aviators. After ten starts he was brought up to the big league level, where he’s been stashed in the bullpen for the past couple of months. In 14 relief appearances Barnett has been so-so with a 4.74 ERA, dominating in June before taking a step back in July.
A few weeks ago back at the end of July the club sent Barnett back to Triple-A, where he got back into starting with three innings for the Aviators. Evidently the squad just wanted to ease him back into that role as the club soon brought him back up for a “bulk” appearance after that one tune-up in Triple-A.
Barnett’s made two starts for the A’s since: His first was very encouraging as he tossed five full innings against a hot Red Sox club, allowing just three runs in his final inning of work. His most recent appearance? Not so hot as Cincinnati collected six runs off the young righty, though again he seemed to lose steam as he got deeper into the game. Similar to how the Boston game went.
If he’s not fully stretched out by this point that’s understandable considering he was used as a reliever for the past two-ish months. Still, it’s a good thing that the organization is finally giving the 25-year-old a chance. Barnett was considered one of the top pitching prospects in the A’s system as recently as last year, ranking fourth (ahead of Luis Morales) on MLB.com’s top prospects list. He showed improvement in Triple-A this year and finally had some success out of the bullpen in the big leagues. Now the club will be hoping to see him continue to grow into the type of pitcher they’ll need for next year. That all continues tonight against a tough Rays team that looks postseason bound.
We don’t know who will be getting the ball in tomorrow’s game either so like with Barnett we’ll just have to wait and see. Anyone in particular you’d like to see get the nod? Luis Morales perhaps?
First pitch is at 6:40. Have a great one A’s fans.
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Blogfather Saves The Day With Pearls Of Most Excellent Advice
MLB News and Interest:
Diamondbacks Designate Paul Sewald For Assignment
Red Sox set to activate Deadline prize Rutschman on Tuesday
Reds’ Hunter Greene to have season-ending surgery for torn UCL
Mets lose closer Williams to IL, then Senga records first MLB save
Taillon exits first Toronto home start with right forearm discomfort
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Tim Anderson, 2-time All-Star and former batting champ, retires
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Rule check: Red Sox-Blue Jays delayed for unusual run-scoring play
Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Lopez with the best start for the club in a while:
Jacob Lopez completes seven innings against the Rays, allowing just two runs. He snaps a streak of 43 consecutive games in which A's starters had logged 6 1/3 innings or fewer, which was the longest such streak in A's history.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) August 11, 2026
Seems like we got a good one. Liking the early results from our recent first rounder:
Drew Burress has 3 hits in pro ball. They've ALL left the yard 💪 The No. 8 overall pick in the 2026 Draft ( @Athletics ) drives another homer for the @stocktonports . Watch LIVE: https://t.co/ahTqRXc0l3 pic.twitter.com/CjVWNMDXPN
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 10, 2026
Good to see Bolte atop this list!
Fastest in MLB right now. Sprint Speed leaders (2026): Henry Bolte – 30.5 Cam Cauley – 30.5 Jorge Mateo – 30.3 ...
MLBSACRAMENTOCALIFORNIAMason BarnettAthleticsLos Angeles AngelsSutter Health ParkPhotoLachlan CunninghamGetty ImagesWelcomeRays
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