MESA, Ariz. — The A’s believe Jharel Cotton has the raw talent to be a top of the staff guy, but a struggle with confidence on the mound last season has him battling just to make the rotation this spring. It’s still early, but Cotton should definitely gain some confidence after his first outing.
In what was the most dominant outing of any A’s starting rotation hopeful this spring, Cotton dazzled in an 8-3 win over the Padres Saturday. Cotton struck out five of the seven batters he faced, allowing just one walk and no hits over two scoreless innings and earning the praise of manager Bob Melvin.