Logue hits speed bump amid 'maturity process'

HOUSTON -- Zach Logue has become quite the traveling man this season, often having to show up to the ballpark for spot starts with his luggage already packed for the trip back to Las Vegas shortly after.

Logue was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday for his sixth stint with the A’s in 2022. This time around, however, the left-hander will have a bit more time to unpack his suitcase and settle in.

With two rotation slots recently opening up following the trade of Frankie Montas and All-Star Paul Blackburn landing on the injured list, the A’s plan to use those vacancies as a chance to evaluate a handful of their young arms. Logue, Oakland’s No. 21 prospect, is among those.

Based on the success he’s had in past big league starts this year, manager Mark Kotsay indicated Logue has earned an opportunity for a longer look and will stick around in the starting rotation for at least the next week or two. Of course, just how long he remains here is dependent on his performance, which will have to be better than his outing in Saturday’s 8-0 loss to the Astros at Minute Maid Park, marking the 12th time the A’s have been shut out this season.

Allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings, Logue severely missed his fastball location on a few occasions and paid the price. His two-run homer surrendered to Alex Bregman in the first and two-run triple to Chas McCormick in the fourth both came on fastballs left out over the middle of the zone, as did Trey Mancini’s RBI double with one out in the sixth that marked the end of Logue’s night.

“Looking back, it was two pitches that really burned me,” Logue said. “That fastball to Bregman in the first and the [triple] that McCormick hit in the fourth. Two pitches ended up getting me.”

Logue understands who he is as a pitcher. With a fastball that only averages 90 mph, locating that heater is what will make or break him at this level. He’s displayed that ability in his past outings, most recently limiting the Astros and Tigers to two earned runs each in spot starts in July.

Though there were spurts of it Saturday night, Logue wasn’t able to consistently put the fastball where he wanted, thus leading to less effective secondary pitches.

“Tonight, he didn’t have as much swing and miss,” Kotsay said of Logue, who recorded just nine whiffs on 107 pitches. “When Zach throws the ball well, he gets the fastball in on righties, which opens up the changeup down and away. That two-pitch mix really wasn’t there for him today. He was missing arm-side on that fastball out over tonight, and these guys took advantage.”

Despite being at 91 pitches through five innings, Logue was given a chance to go back out for the sixth. This was partially due to a taxed bullpen. But it was also Kotsay wanting to see how well the rookie lefty could hold up with a heavy workload.

Ultimately, though Logue was unable to complete the sixth, he finished at a career-high 107 pitches, which also marked the highest pitch count by an A’s starter this season.

“With where our bullpen is, he helped us out eating into the game,” Kotsay said. “A good sign is he didn’t look like he was fatigued. He helped the bullpen out by getting as many pitches out of that arm. ... This kid has had some good success with us in some starts, and that’s just part of that growth and maturity process.”

One positive note Logue took away from his outing was the carryover of the changeup he’d been working on in the Minors over the past few weeks. On the advice of Triple-A pitching coach Steve Connelly, Logue has been trying to utilize it more to give hitters a different look. He threw the changeup 22 times Saturday and generated four of his whiffs with it. Of the five changeups put in play by the Astros, the contact was mostly weak with an average exit velocity of 81.9 mph.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to settle in a little bit,” Logue said. “Just trying to take it one start at a time. For a guy like me, nothing is guaranteed. The next start is never guaranteed, so I’m trying to go out there and give the team the best chance to win.”