Boyle, Estes K their way through spring debuts

MESA, Ariz. -- Drawing the start for the A’s in the first game of Spring Training, Joe Boyle seemed to pick up where he left off from last season’s impressive three-game stretch with the A’s to begin his Major League career.

Piggybacking Oakland’s Cactus League opener in tandem with right-hander Joey Estes on Saturday at Hohokam Stadium, Boyle overpowered opposing hitters through two scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out three batters in a 5-1 loss to the Rockies.

Tabbed for a limit of around 40 pitches, Boyle retired six of his seven batters faced on just 23 pitches and was sent to throw an extra 15 pitches in the A’s bullpen after exiting the game. Boyle produced plenty of swings and misses over his outing, including a punchout of Michael Toglia on a new sweeper he added to his repertoire this offseason.

“I threw a couple [of sweepers] today,” Boyle said. “It’s been feeling really good in bullpens and live BPs. It wasn’t great today, but it wasn’t terrible. The shape was what I was looking for. … I have no doubt I’ll be able to mix it in consistently.”

Acquired from the Reds for left-hander Sam Moll at last year’s Trade Deadline, Boyle -- ranked as Oakland’s No. 20 prospect by MLB Pipeline -- joined the A’s with serious command issues that led to scouts projecting him as a future reliever. But since coming over to his new organization, the right-hander has gained better command of all his pitches. That held true again on Saturday, as Boyle threw 15 of his 23 pitches for strikes.

“Boyle looked great,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He pounded the zone like he did last year in his three starts and mixed pitches. The breaking ball looked good. Fastball had life. He came out of the chute ready to roll.”

While the stadium radar was not operating, Kotsay said the radar guns set up by the club behind home plate had Boyle maxing out at 101 mph a couple of times and hitting no lower than 99 mph with his fastball, which falls right in line with the high-octane velocities he showed with the heater last season.

“Some people use Spring Training to build up,” Boyle said. “But I’m a firm believer that if you want to do something consistently, you have to practice it, so I throw hard in the offseason. Today, I could tell [the velocity] was there.”

Estes -- Oakland’s No. 12 prospect -- nearly matched Boyle, striking out two batters over two perfect innings of relief, with Kotsay noting his fastball velocity ticked up to around 96 mph.

“Estes’ velo was up,” Kotsay said. “We know what this kid is about. He’s just going to continue to get better. But that type of velo makes everything else better for him.”

Boyle and Estes are part of a larger group of starters in camp competing for the final open rotation spot. Other candidates such as Kyle Muller, Mitch Spence and Luis Medina will get opportunities to pitch in similar piggyback situations in upcoming games.

“There’s so much competition here, and that’s what I love,” Estes said. “All of us bring each other up and work off each other. We’re all trying to help each other out, win games and turn everything around.”

Ruiz shows power
Esteury Ruiz, who set an American League rookie record with 67 stolen bases last season, is known as a speedster above all. But the A’s believe there is some power to his game to be tapped into, and he showed it on Saturday by sending an 0-1 pitch from Ty Blach over the wall in right field for his first home run of spring.

The A’s worked with Ruiz this offseason on cleaning up his hitting mechanics by refining his swing to unlock harder contact. Going the opposite way for a solo shot provided an encouraging early sign that those adjustments could make a difference.

“We know the power is in there but we didn’t see it a lot last year,” Kotsay said of Ruiz, who hit five homers in 497 plate appearances last season. “For him to go to right field and drive the ball out of the ballpark with some good barrel contact, that’s a good start for him.”

Up next
The A’s head to Camelback Ranch for a matchup with the Dodgers on Sunday in a game that will feature Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and top prospect Darell Hernaiz in the starting lineup. Muller will start for Oakland.