5. Jesus Lazardo, Oakland A’s, SP
Jesus Lazardo has rebounded from his surgery and hasn’t looked back.
The southpaw is arguably team World’s best pitcher. He was traded to the Oakland A’s in the Sean Doolittle/ Ryan Madson trade. He has a healthy fastball that sits in the low-90’s and his breaking stuff is pretty good. Also, his changeup is an offering that could develop into one of his best pitches in the near future.
He recovered from Tommy John well and is putting together his finest season to date. This season, the southpaw has tossed a 2.81 ERA in 57.1 innings. Hise ceiling is a top of the rotation arm and his floor is that of a back of the staff guy. With that said, the A’s made out pretty good in that trade. He might toss an inning or two in the game in D.C.
His command is plus and he can work around a walk if need be. The fastball has movement on it and is utilized as a strikeout pitch in tight situations.
Overall, Lazardo is an arm that is extremely valuable to Oakland, as he fits in with their budding talent. It should be another year or two though until he gets a big league call-up. As his workload gets bigger, he will get a feel for his pitches as he goes longer into games. With that said, he looks like one of the exciting left-handers to watch out for in the coming years.