The A’s have sent 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tyson Ross to AAA. Ross has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he is 2-6 with a 5.94 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. Ross gave up a stunningly bad 65 hits in his first 47 innings this year for the A’s. He has now pitched in 44 games (17 starts) in his first three years with the A’s and he is 6-13 with 1 save, a 4.86 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The A’s hope that Ross gets straightened out in AAA, so that he can return to them at some point in 2012.

34-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour is out as the A’s closer. He has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-1 with 7 saves, a 4.41 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. 36-year old lefty reliever Brian Fuentes will be the new closer going forward for the A’s. He has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-0 with 2 saves, a 3.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Fuentes has a better makeup to handle late inning pressure situations than Balfour does, so he should be a better fit as a closer going forward.

35-year old lefty reliever Brian Fuentes has been up and down working as the A’s closer so far this year. Fuentes has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-4 with 9 saves, a 3.98 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Righty closer Andrew Bailey is ready to go out on a rehab assignment soon and when he’s ready to return to the A’s bullpen, he’s going to bump Fuentes back to being a set-up man. Fuentes will likely excel in a set-up role as he won’t have to pitch to as many righty batters.

The Oakland A’s no doubt signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Ben Sheets with one eye on the trading deadline. They figured that they could get a couple of decent position player prospects for Sheets if he came all the way back to his past performances. But that has not been the case yet this season. He has started 13 games for the A’s this year and he is 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has given up 77 hits (11 homers) and he has walked 30 batters in only 74 1/3 innings. He has shown glimpses of his former self but not for any extended period. The A’s need Sheets to get his act together soon so he can help them either get back in the A.L. West race or give them some nice prospects next month at the trading deadline.

21-year old lefty Brett Anderson was the A’s #1 prospect heading into this season while 21-year old righty Trevor Cahill was #2. The A’s have put both of these guys in the rotation since Day #1 this season and the learning curve has been tough so far. Anderson has started 14 games this season for the A’s and he is 4-7 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He hasn’t been missing many bats yet as he has allowed 90 hits (13 of which were homers) in only 74 1/3 innings. Cahill has been a lot better for the A’s so far but he is not very consistent. He has started 17 games for the A’s this season and he is 5-7 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has had trouble with his control (38 walks) and the long ball (16 homers) in only 93 innings. Still, both of these guys should be fixtures in the A’s rotation if they learn from the mistakes they made this season because they both have good stuff.

Chad Gaudin was outstanding in the first half of the 2007 season as he was 8-3 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 18 starts before the All-Star Break. The second half of the season has been a disaster however as Gaudin has started 14 games and he is 3-9 with a 6.81 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. The A’s better look for someone to replace Gaudin in the rotation for next season because he has proven that he can’t start for a whole season. He’s better used as a long reliever/spot starter. The A’s hope they can hold off the Texas Rangers for third place in the American League West. They are now 74-79 which has them 16 games behind the Angels and only 3 games ahead of the Rangers.

Kiko Calero, Jay Marshall and Colby Lewis have all had their problems this season. Kiko Calero has been banged up most of the season and it has showed in his performance this season. Calero is 1-4 with a 6.39 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP so far this season. The A’s will need him to pitch better in the 2nd half as he is very important to their bullpen. Lefty Jay Marshall was a Rule 5 Draft Pick and he has looked overmatched at times. He is 1-2 with a 5.83 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP so far this season. Marshall will stick with the A’s all season because they don’t want to lose him. Colby Lewis just plain stinks and he doesn’t belong in the major leagues at all. He is 0-2 with a 8.39 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP so far this season. The A’s would have a better pitching staff just by getting rid of Lewis.

Dallas Braden is finding out that major league hitters can be tough on rookie pitchers. In 4 starts, Braden is 1-3 with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP so far. In 19.2 innings, he has allowed 21 hits, walked 6 batters and he has whiffed 15. Braden will need to mix his pitches a little better if he wants to stay in the big leagues.

Jay Marshall started off the season like a ball of fire but teams have started to figure him out. He must adjust soon or he’ll be in danger of being a mop up man in the A’s bullpen. Marshall has pitched in 15 games so far this season and he’s 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.Â

Kiko Calero and Jay Witasick are both off to rough starts for the A’s. Calero has thrown 2.1 innings so far this season and he’s allowed 6 hits and 4 earned runs. He has lost a game and has a 15.43 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. He’s better than that so look for him to turn it around soon. Jay Witasick is pretty much the mop-up man for the A’s and he’s done a poor job of that so far this season. He has pitched 2 innings and allowed 4 baserunners (2 hits, 2 walks) and 3 earned runs. He has a 13.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP so far this season which is awful.