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Elephant Rumblings: Oller on tap for another chance to boost starting chances

MLB news roundup

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MLB: Spring Training-Los Angeles Dodgers at Oakland Athletics Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Thursday, Athletics Nation!

Sadly there was no A’s baseball yesterday but hopefully that won’t be the case today. Oakland should be getting back on the field this afternoon against the Kansas City Royals with righty Adam Oller on the mound to start the game.

The young pitcher, who came over in last year’s Chris Bassitt trade, will look to continue his impressive spring. With the rotation picture wide open, there is a better than decent chance that Oller can secure a spot in the starting five.

That’s not what was especially expected at the start of camp. Oller struggled last year in his first real taste of MLB action, posting a 6.30 ERA over 19 games (14 starts). A lot of pundits and fans believed that Oller could, at best, grab a long-reliever role in the bullpen but his spring has changed that calculus. He’s pitched 9 23 innings while racking up 14 strikeouts along with just 4 walks. With the A’s in rebuilding mode and looking for pieces of the next Oakland playoff team, don’t be surprised to see Oller given a long look, at least to start the season. A’s fans will be rooting for him.

A’s Coverage:

MLB News & Interest:

Best of Twitter:

Scary scene at the end with one of the best closers in baseball:

Former top prospect pitching in the WBC for Venezuela:

You heard the man:

It’s gotta be humbling, to be sure…

And a couple A’s prospects facing each other in today’s WBC games: