The Athletics went back to the college pitching well for the second straight pick in the 2026 draft, popping Arkansas righty Gabe Gaeckle with their Competitive Balance Round B selection at No. 73 overall. On Monday, Jim Callis confirmed the deal is done: $1.25 million, well above the assigned slot value of $1,156,400 for that pick.
Jim Callis broke the signing news along with the bonus figure and a scouting snapshot of Gaeckle's arsenal.
That overslot bonus tells you Oakland believes in the stuff, and it's easy to see why. Gaeckle's fastball sat 94-96 mph and touched 98 this spring, with a low release height that made it play up even more against college hitters. Pair that with a tight mid-80s slider that missed bats consistently, and you've got a two-pitch mix that looks like a weapon regardless of role.
The catch, and it's a real one, is command. Gaeckle battled control issues with basically every pitch in his repertoire at Arkansas, posting a 4.14 ERA over 71.2 innings in a split starter/reliever role this season, with a strong 26.1% strikeout rate undercut by a 10.5% walk rate. Scouts see starter traits in the arm strength and life on his pitches, but they've also been clear that if the strikes don't come, this profile fits cleanly as a high-leverage bullpen arm.
That's the same bet Oakland's been making all draft weekend. The org's headliner is Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold, its first-round arm from the prior cycle, and this year's class leaned hard into college pitching again, pouring most of a signing bonus pool north of $13.8 million into arms the front office thinks can move fast. Gaeckle slots in as another power arm in that pipeline, whether he ends up starting or closing out the back of an Oakland bullpen down the line.
None of that gets sorted for a while. Gaeckle now heads to Oakland's lower-minors complex, where the plan is reportedly to stretch him out as a starter and see if the control catches up to the stuff. If it doesn't, a $1.25 million bonus on a live 98 mph arm with a wipeout slider is still a fine outcome for a pick in that range — worst case, you've got a fast-moving reliever with real swing-and-miss upside.