In last summer’s draft, A.J. Puk had the talent to be talked about as the top overall pick but enough question marks that he fell to the A’s at No. 6. Oakland used their high pick to gamble on his elite upside, and so far it’s looking like they might have a jackpot on their hands.
Puk retired the first 10 batters he faced on Saturday against San Jose, and wound up tossing five scoreless innings for the High-A Stockton Ports. Only two batters reached base against him: a single, and a dropped third strike error, one of his nine strikeouts.