FSU left-hander Jamie Arnold, a Jesuit High alumnus who evolved into the Seminoles’ ace over the last two seasons, was chosen by the Athletics with the No. 11 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft Sunday evening.
Arnold, 21, fell one pick shy of becoming the 10th player hailing from a Tampa Bay area high school to be chosen with a top-10 overall pick. Yet ESPN analysts suggested the Las Vegas-bound A’s got a steal of sorts in what quickly evolved into an unpredictable draft that blew up many reputable mock projections.
“What (Seminoles pitching coach) Micah Posey has done with Arnold in big games, big moments is to try to perform,” former big-leaguer Eduardo Perez said during ESPN’s draft coverage Sunday evening.
“Now he’s going to go not only to Sacramento (where the A’s currently play), but to Vegas? I think this is a great pick for the Athletics.”
The ace of Jesuit’s 2022 Class 5A state title team, Arnold soared up mock-draft boards via the development of one of the college game’s most cunning sliders, a pitch he didn’t begin throwing until his senior year of high school. After a modest freshman season at FSU, he went 19-5 over the past two years and finished his college career seventh on FSU’s all-time strikeout list (327).
Complementing his slider and mid-90s fastball — from a deceptively low arm slot — has been the modest evolution of a cutter and change-up.
“One of the things you see with these college starters, because hitters are so tuned in to velocity these days, they’re forced to get to their secondary stuff,” ESPN analyst Chris Burke said.
“But I do think you’ve got a pitcher who’s been forced to pitch off his fastball — the slider, the change-up, which are his two best whiff pitches. So from that standpoint, you know you’re getting the polish of a kid that could move really quick.”
A ‘Noles captain in 2025, Arnold finished 8-2, tying for the team lead in wins. His 2.98 ERA led all FSU pitchers with at least 10 appearances, as did his WHIP (1.06) and strikeout total (119). That followed a breakthrough 2024 season — ending in the College World Series — in which Arnold finished 11-3 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 159 strikeouts and only 26 walks in 105 ⅔ innings.
“He’s so special, and he’s so unique in what he’s able to do,” FSU coach Link Jarrett said.
“To try to harness the movement and the stuff from that slot, the looseness, the athleticism, the whip, the ride, the velocity, the sweep on the slider. …
“The way he latched on to the change-up this year, we felt like to just have something else, I think it’ll help him. The development of a little cutter — didn’t use it a lot, but it’s there.”
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