Jamie Arnold and Devin Taylor are wasting no time climbing the Athletics’ ladder.
Both prospects have surged into Triple-A Las Vegas after turning heads at Double-A Midland, and each is arriving with plenty of momentum behind him. Arnold, the A’s No. 3 prospect and No. 57 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, needed some time to settle into his first pro season after going No. 11 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Florida State. But once summer arrived, the left-hander started rolling.
Over his final 13 starts with Midland, Arnold posted a 2.43 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 25 walks across 66 2/3 innings. He also finished with a 53.1 percent ground-ball rate in 23 Double-A starts, a trait that matters plenty for an organization trying to survive in hitter-friendly parks now and later. The A’s want pitchers who keep the ball down, and Arnold has shown he can do that.
“Arnold had his learning curve in Double-A,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “The growth that he showed and the success he’s had over the last six weeks has been great.
We’re going to challenge him now to go to Triple-A in a ballpark that we know is an offensive ballpark and an offensive league and perform. There’s going to be a learning curve for him at that level, but we felt it was the right time to promote him and give him this next challenge.”
Arnold didn’t wait long to answer that challenge. In his Triple-A debut Tuesday against El Paso, a lineup that included six hitters with Major League experience, the 22-year-old worked five scoreless innings on 67 pitches. He gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five.
Taylor’s rise has been just as eye-catching, if not more sudden. The A’s No. 7 prospect was drafted in the second round out of Indiana last year and opened 2026, his first full professional season, at High-A Lansing. He handled Midwest League pitching right away, batting .292 with an .861 OPS in 57 games.
That earned him a jump to Double-A on June 9, and he only got better. In 68 games with Midland, Taylor hit .323/.409/.534 with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and 54 RBIs, forcing the next promotion.
Now in Las Vegas, he’s already showing the same kind of damage. In just his second game with the club on Wednesday, the 22-year-old outfielder piled up four hits, launched two homers including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs. Through Thursday, Taylor was slashing a combined .316/.420/.507 with 22 homers, 26 doubles and 104 RBIs in 127 games across three levels.
“This kid has been very impressive,” Kotsay said of Taylor. “First full season of pro ball, he’s earned these promotions with performance.
He’s continued to impress, and he’s getting an opportunity now to go to Triple-A and accelerate that learning curve. Each level, there’s generally an adjustment period.
But when he got to Double-A, there was not much of an adjustment period and he really performed. It’s exciting to have a young player like that in his first full season have that type of success.
He’ll be a great addition to that Vegas roster for them going to the playoffs. He’s going to get that experience as well.”
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Several of the organizations top prospects have already reached the big leagues, and the farm system has continued to supply reasons for optimism. Recent draft picks and international signings have shown enough in the minors to keep the future from feeling entirely cloudy, even if the immediate picture remains uneven. For an Athletics team still sorting through the present, the bigger question now is which of these young players can turn early promise into something lasting. [Read more 🡒]