Given that the Rule 5 Draft just took place this past week, it’s only fitting that we look back at the year that the Atheltics’ 2023 selection Mitch Spence had. Following in the tradition of guys like Nate Freiman, Mark Canha, and Ryan Noda, the 26-year-old righty gives the A’s another useful building block as they attempt to construct their next contender.
How was he acquired?
The A’s had the first selection in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, so they had the pick of the litter. After successfully using their previous pick on first baseman Ryan Noda, the A’s went with a pitcher this time, stealing another pitcher from the New York Yankees system in Spence.
What were the expectations?
Carrying a career 4.35 ERA in the minors with solid but not excellent strikeout and walk numbers, this wasn’t a particularly sexy pick. It seemed that the A’s were targeting reliability over upside in this draft, hoping desperately to add stability to a very unstable roster. While Spence never dominated any level he’s pitched at, he’s been incredibly consistent and fairly available. If he could translate his minor league numbers into something similar in the majors, the A’s were going to be more than satisfied.
2024 Results
Spence did almost exactly that, putting on a very believable impression of rotation-mate JP Sears. Leading all Rule 5 draft picks with 24 starts and an impressive 151 1⁄3 innings, the righty wielded his diverse arsenal and strong command to walk only 44 batters. He pitched to an effective 4.58 ERA/4.21 FIP that surpassed many other more highly-touted rookies. His strikeout numbers unsurprisingly took a step back from his minor league rates but he offset that with a near-elite ability to induce groundballs, ranking 10th in the league for pitchers with more than 150 innings. He role flexibility was also incredibly useful for a pitching staff that had a very fluid rotation picture, jumping back and forth between the bullpen and rotation with ease.
2025 Outlook
Given his solid rookie season, Spence has the inside track on a rotation spot, with Sears and the newly signed Luis Severino as likely the only locks. With his slider, he has an above average pitch to lean on in any role that he pitches in, but he’ll likely never be much more than a backend-rotation type that can eat innings at an effective clip. Fortunately, the A’s have a long history of maximizing those types of pitchers and will likely continue that tradition with Spence.