March 7, 2021 3:19 PM : Jefferies, making his second Cactus League start Saturday against the Mariners, fired two scoreless innings during which he allowed a hit and a walk while recording three strikeouts.
Analysis: The 25-year-old is still likely to open the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, but Jefferies is laying the foundation for a possible promotion at some point in 2021 with early spring showings that have featured a developing pitch arsenal. Saturday, Jefferies was notably able to record two of his strikeouts with the breaking ball he's been working on developing as a complement to a solid fastball and changeup. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com also reports the Athletics have intentionally given Jefferies both of his spring turns against teams they knew would mostly field regulars in their lineups, and with a total of three scoreless frames thus far, the right-hander has clearly been up to the task. "He's off to a good start," manager Bob Melvin said. "He had the one tough start last year at the big league level and you want to get those cob webs out of the way. He's gotten two lineups that had a lot of starters, too, so that's good for his confidence."