James Charles Arnold (born March 21, 2004) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Athletics organization.
Arnold attended Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played baseball and basketball. As a senior in 2022, he posted a 2.02 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 66 innings. Arnold went unselected in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Florida State University to play college baseball.
As a freshman at Florida State in 2023, Arnold appeared in 24 games and went 2âÂÂ5 with a 6.34 ERA over 44 innings. He played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks after the season and was named an All-Star. As a sophomore in 2024, Arnold started 18 games and posted an 11âÂÂ3 record, a 2.98 ERA, and 159 strikeouts over innings and was named an All-American. After the season, he was selected to play for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and was the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter in a games versus Chinese Taipei. Entering the 2025 season, Arnold was considered a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. He returned to Florida State as the team's number one starter. Over 15 starts for the season, Arnold went 8-2 with a 2.98 ERA and 119 strikeouts over innings.
Arnold was selected by the Athletics in the first round with the eleventh overall pick of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft. On July 23, Arnold signed with the team for a $5.9 million signing bonus.