Oakland A’s starter JP Sears has been on the mound every fifth day since the start of the 2023 season, and after his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, he’s only getting better as 2024 progresses.
After posting a 4.54 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 32 starts in 2023, Sears has improved somewhat this season and currently holds a 4.32 ERA and 1.19 WHIP after 24 starts. This season, he’s incorporated a new sinker that he now throws 11% of the time, and while it’s not necessarily his best pitch with a .296 expected batting average, it does help keep batters away from his four-seamer.
Last year, Sears allowed 34 home runs, with 13% of the fly balls he allowed going over the fence. This year, that rate has dropped to 9.8%, while he’s allowed 18 long balls. He’s also allowing fewer big flies per inning, down from 1.78 per nine to 1.21. Ideally, that number would be at or below one. The reason home runs are such a focus is because Sears allowed the fourth-most home runs in baseball last year, so lowering that rate was always a focus of his development for the 2024 season.
Sears has thrown seven innings in each of his last three starts, which is the first time in his career he has had three such starts. Last year, he came close with seven innings in three of four in June and July. In his most recent stretch, Sears has pitched a total of 21 innings, allowing nine hits, four runs, just one home run, five walks and 18 strikeouts.
Zooming out a little further, Sears also had a solid July, finishing with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in five games. That’s especially impressive considering he allowed seven runs in six innings in one of those games against the Houston Astros. He managed shutouts at the two ends of the month, while allowing one and two runs in the other two games.
In his last seven starts, Sears has posted a 2.91 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP, going 6-1 in that span, which is a top-20 ERA in MLB since early July. He’s on the all-time list with the likes of Chris Sale, Framber Valdez and Zach Wheeler – some of the best pitchers in the game.
Sears was acquired from the New York Yankees as part of the Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino deal, and even if he had been the only player the A’s got, Oakland would still have had the advantage. That may sound odd since his ERA is over four, but the league average is 4.11 this season and 4.33 last year. An average pitcher who can catch the ball every five days is a huge advantage for any team, but it means even more when you’re a team like Oakland that’s in the midst of a rebuild and dealing with numerous season-ending injuries.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before Sunday’s game in Toronto that JP’s biggest challenge will be “placing his fastball and being able to use that changeup to keep right-handers off balance.”
This four-seamer has been responsible for 50% of the home runs he’s allowed this year, but also has a batting average against of .227 with an xBA that’s even lower at .213. It’s also his most swing-and-miss pitch, with a whiff rate of 25.9%. To reiterate Kotsay’s point: It’s all about placement.
Sears still has to work towards his peak, but he has been pretty solid on the way up the mountain.
