Mason Barnett’s strong start for the Las Vegas Aviators earned him a promotion to the Athletics on Saturday, though he was sent back to Triple-A on Monday. The 24-year-old right-hander pitched two scoreless innings in Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox, working as a long reliever as manager Mark Kotsay indicated.
“Mason’s done a nice job in Triple-A of making starts, building his pitch counts to 80-90,” Kotsay said. “There’s a ton of value to that (long relief) role. We’re at a point that we need that role to keep everybody else fresh.”
Barnett, acquired from the Kansas City Royals in 2024, is the Athletics’ No. 17 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He made five starts for the A’s late last season, going 1-1 with a 6.85 ERA. In three starts for the Aviators this year, he is 2-0 with a 3.07 ERA, striking out seven over five shutout innings in his last outing against Reno on Tuesday.
“Execution is a huge part of this game, especially when you get called up to the big leagues,” Barnett said Friday. “You’re not going to surprise anybody with stuff they haven’t seen before.”
Pitching Pipeline on Display
Barnett’s performance sparked a run of quality starts from fellow Aviators hurlers. Left-hander Gage Jump, baseball’s No. 51 prospect, struck out eight in 4⅔ innings Wednesday, touching 97.4 mph. Kade Morris, the organization’s No. 12 prospect, fanned five in 5⅔ innings Thursday.
“These guys are competitors,” Aviators manager Fran Riordan said. “These guys want to go out there and have great starts every time they toe the slab, and a lot of times you do have that momentum where starters get into a groove and they feed off each other.”
Las Vegas leads the Pacific Coast League with 9.92 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has been equally impressive: veteran Nick Anderson has not allowed a run or hit in eight innings, walking two. Wander Suero, with 196 MLB appearances, owns a 0.00 ERA and two saves. Cuban righty Yunior Tur has struck out 11 in 8⅔ innings with a 0.90 ERA.
Speed on the Bases
The Aviators also lead the PCL in stolen bases with 29, caught just three times. Outfielder Henry Bolte, the Athletics’ fifth-ranked prospect, is second in the league with nine steals. Outfielder Cade Marlowe has five steals; neither has been thrown out.
“Because we’re so fast throughout our lineup, we’re doing a good job of taking advantage of situations where we can get stolen bases,” Riordan said. He credited assistant hitting coach Kevin Kouzmanoff, a former A’s third baseman, for the team’s baserunning success: “Kouz has done a great job of really embracing the role. It’s something he’s really dug deep into this year … trying to find better opportunities and give guys certain cues to what they’re looking for to steal bases.”
Silver State Challenge
Las Vegas is off to a strong start in the Silver State Challenge against the Reno Aces, winning four of six games last week. The Aviators haven’t won the rivalry since 2019. Marlowe, riding a seven-game hit streak, is hitting .326 with nine RBIs in 13 games. In Thursday’s 10-5 win, he went 2-for-5 with a double, triple, three RBIs and a steal.
Up next, the Aviators host the Salt Lake Bees (Angels affiliate) for a six-game series starting Tuesday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
