With the Athletics’ wrapping up Las Vegas Series 2026 over the weekend, the club’s future in Vegas has obviously been a central topic of conversation the past week. A familiar face and voice to Athletics’ fans, Jessica Kleinschmidt, has a unique perspective on the situation as she grew up as a fan of the team and spent seven seasons covering them. “I personally am OK with it (not that my opinion matters), but I understand the emotions behind it,” Kleinschmidt told Vegas Sports Today on the reality of the team leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. “I’m personally a Nevada homegrown girl, and I grew up wanting professional sports in the state so badly.”
“The final day at the Coliseum was one of the best, if not the best, career moments of my life. I think being able to see how much love goes into the sport, backed by all of that history, was so beautiful.”
With that level of emotion and the rich history of the team in Oakland, I asked Kleinschmidt if she felt there were any ways the Athletics could maintain that connection or any goodwill with the Bay Area fans once the Vegas move is complete. “As far as the goodwill goes, I’m not sure,” she answered. “I see how fans are online and of course, have talked to them in person over the years. And seeing the team move was interesting in that it went from a lot of news surrounding the team that had little to do with actual baseball.”
“Then, once the first move happened to Sacramento, it was more baseball-heavy news and discussions. The A’s do make an effort to connect with the community when they are present in their city.”
As that focus turned to baseball, an exciting young core of position players was emerging for the A’s that Jessica thinks will be “untouchable” offensively over the next few seasons. When it comes to taking the next step to become a contender, she points to the mound as an area of focus for roster construction. “I think about starting pitching,” she said. “And yes, every single team benefits from starting pitching, but there’s also a really solid defense there to enhance a pitcher’s performance. You can score all the runs in the world, but you need a solid three starters in your rotation to remain consistent.”
“And as time goes on and we see pitchers evolve to more than just throwing high velocity numbers and embracing some of these specialty pitches, the next few draft classes are going to present a lot of options. We’re going to see a spike in two-way players too.”
Jessica can definitely speak to the next wave of talent that the A’s can count on. In addition to her work on NBC Sports Bay Area and as a multimedia reporter for the club, she also contributed some articles on Athletics’ prospects to Baseball America. When asked about a prospect, outside of Leo De Vries, that she has high expectations for, there were a couple of names that came to mind. “My guy Henry Bolte made his debut and he comes as advertised,” Kleinschmidt pointed out. “ I’m really excited to see him grow and add to an already impressive, athletic career. He’ll be in All-Star conversations in the next two seasons.”
“Tommy White is also someone I’ve kept my eye on. When you’re an LSU guy, and your name is “Tommy Tanks,” we know exactly why the A’s drafted you. I know once he gets his defense solid and obviously gets more at-bats, as well as figures out the speed of the game and how that increases with each promotion, he’s going to be special.”
She added, “His makeup also will make a lot of fans happy.”
There is another former college baseball star that Jessica is confident in to help drive the A’s forward: manager Mark Kotsay. “We’re talking about arguably the greatest college baseball player to ever grace the game,” she said discussing his fit leading this young roster. “The guys want to play hard for him and he’s always had the most approachable demeanor. I talked to many former teammates and reporters who covered them and it was a consensus he would be a great manager one day.”
Kleinschmidt continued, “He knows the A’s history and a lot of the players love learning from a guy who had a long career. You gain a lot of knowledge in 17 seasons of playing. Not many last that long. He knows the ins and outs of the ball player way. Whether it’s dealing with injuries, the lifestyle or dealing with the media.”
Much like the ball club that she covered, Kleinschmidt’s potential in baseball and media is sky high. This will not be the last time I lean on her knowledge and insight, so stay tuned!
(Featured photo from the 2025 season provided by Jessica Kleinschmidt)
