​PHILADELPHIA — Don’t misread Jamie Arnold. He would love to be promoted by the Athletics to Triple-A this season, perhaps even to the majors, but Midland, Texas has somehow never looked more striking. Arnold, the A’s top pitching prospect selected in the first round last year, paid particularly close attention to the A’s recent Las Vegas series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies at their Triple-A home in Summerlin, Nevada. And like every other pitcher in the A’s organization, he winced at the numbers.
Six games. 102 runs—55 runs allowed by the A’s staff. 32 runs scored in a single game. 20 home runs. No A’s starter lasted longer than 5⅔ innings. So, forgive the pitching prospects for not sprinting toward a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. They’d rather skip straight to the Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento—where they temporarily play their big-league games—and then wait to pitch in Vegas for the first time in 2028 when the new ballpark opens on the Strip.
“I mean, I heard how the PCL is as a whole and how Vegas in general,” Arnold told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday before the Futures Game. “But seeing the games there really solidified it for me. The ball flies. I mean, that’s not normal for the big leagues, 19–13, whatever—that was pretty crazy.”
The Athletics’ Lawrence Butler is tagged out by Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas as he tries to stretch his double into a triple during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park on April 18, 2026. The scene underscored how tough that environment can be.
You had to be there to believe it, as Brewers manager Pat Murphy still called it the craziest environment he has encountered in his college, minor league and major league career.
“It’s just a tough environment,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said after the six-game series concluded in June. “There’s no other way to explain this. As a pitcher, you go out there and you compete. It’s not easy from a confidence standpoint when you’re on the mound and playing in these elements.”
The good news is that when the A’s relocate to their new Las Vegas home, the elevation is nearly 1,000 feet lower on the Strip than in Summerlin, and a baseball humidor will be in place, just like the ones used at Coors Field in Denver and Chase Field in Arizona. And when they move, they’re expected to field a far improved pitching staff, with Arnold anticipated to be the centerpiece of a talented, youthful rotation. In Midland, Arnold stands 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA in his first professional season, logging 85 strikeouts against 38 walks over 80⅓ innings. He also went a scoreless inning in the Futures Game, recording one walk and one strikeout.
“Right now, I’m just trying to get ready for the big leagues and get hitters out,” Arnold said. “Whether it’s Double-A or Triple-A, it’s all the same thing. Just continuing to grow myself and get ready for the bigs.”