24-year old righty starting pitcher Jarrod Parker had a solid year in 2012 as a rookie, but he had a rough time in April.  He appears to be back on the right track now.  Since May 1st, Parker has started 7 games in which he is 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.  Parker has now pitched in 13 games (all starts) so far this year for the A’s and he is 5-6 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  The A’s need Parker to keep up the good work moving forward.

35-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour has no intentions of losing his closer’s gig like he did early in 2012, before regaining it late in the year.  Balfour has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 0-0 with 9 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Balfour has given up 13 hits and 8 walks (too many) in his first 18 1/3 innings while whiffing 20 batters….which is impressive.  Balfour has now pitched in 155 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the A’s and he is 8-4 with 35 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

25-year old righty reliever Ryan Cook is looking nasty again for the A’s in 2013.  He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  Cook gave up 11 hits and 7 walks in his first 17 innings this year while whiffing 22 batters, which is pretty darn impressive.  Cook has pitched in 87 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the A’s and he is 7-2 with 14 saves, a 1.99 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

39-year old righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon is off to a good start in 2013 for the A’s.  Colon pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, before his season ended early for him testing positive for PEDs.  So he missed a start this year while finishing up his suspension.  But, he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat so far this year for the A’s.  He has pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.  He has given up 20 hits so far this year, but he has yet to walk a batter while whiffing 10 batters in his first 19 innings this year.  The A’s hope that Colon keeps up the good work and stays clean this year.

25-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Griffin is off to a good start in 2013 for the A’s.  Griffin has started 2 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 17 games (all starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 9-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  Griffin has only given up 86 hits and 22 walks in his first 96 1/3 innings while whiffing 69 batters.  Griffin is a darn good looking pitcher and I love the fact that he uses a big old fashioned over the top curveball instead of a slider.

25-year old righty reliever Ryan Cook has settled into the set-up man role after being replaced by Grant Balfour as the closer. Cook has pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 6-2 with 14 saves, a 2.44 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Cook has only given up 36 hits and he has whiffed 67 batters in 62 2/3 innings this year while walking 27 batters. He is already a darn good pitcher, but if he tightens up his control, he’s going to be a truly dominating reliever.

34-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour is back to closing for the A’s. He started the year as the closer before losing his gig to Ryan Cook. But, since he got his job back as the closer on August 11th, Balfour has been lights out. He has pitched in 9 games after getting his closer gig back and he is 0-0 with 8 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 0.48 WHIP. Balfour has now pitched in 61 games (0 starts) overall this year and he is 2-2 with 15 saves, a 2.64 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. The A’s are going to need Balfour to keep up the good work, as the A’s can’t afford to blow any games late in their pursuit of the Texas Rangers in the A.L. West.

24-year old lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson missed most of this season as he was rehabbing from elbow surgery. But, he has been electric in his first two starts this year for the A’s. He is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and a 0.57 WHIP so far for the A’s. He gave up only 6 hits and 2 walks in his first 14 innings this year while whiffing 11 batters. Anderson has now pitched in 64 games (all starts) in his first four years with the A’s and he is 23-23 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Anderson’s return came in a nick of time with the A’s duking it out for a playoff spot heading in September.

25-year old lefty reliever Sean Doolittle has been incredible so far this year for the A’s. He has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-0 with 1 save, a 1.86 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He has only given up 14 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 29 batters in his first 19 1/3 innings so far this year. Doolittle might just get better as he hasn’t been a pitcher that long, having been a position player early on in his professional baseball career.

29-year old lefty starter Travis Blackley is doing a great job for the A’s so far this year. He has pitched in 10 games (7 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has only given up 40 hits and 9 walks in 48 1/3 innings so far this year while whiffing 29 batters. Those are pretty impressive numbers. Blackley has pitched in 22 games (15 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 3-5 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. The A’s hope that Blackley keeps up the good work and prove to be a big time late bloomer.