Manager Mark Kotsay named Boyle the Athletics' fifth starter Tuesday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Boyle was impressive in three big-league starts toward the end of last season, logging a 1.69 ERA and 0.81 WHIP across 16 innings. However, he's been known to walk batters at an alarmingly high rate, and those troubles seemed to haunt him yet again this spring as he allowed 15 free bases over 18.1 frames. If the 24-year-old righty is able to bring down his walk rate, he has the stuff necessary to develop into a solid major-league starter.