The A's Approach .500?

The way things are looking right now, the Sacramento Athletics have a chance of finishing the season only 10 or so games away from .500, and potentially even not in last. The whole season the A's flirted with staying out of the bottom spot, settled there for a bit, even lapped the Rangers, and now are ahead of the Angels as the season draws to a close. The A's might, at the very least, finish with a better record than they did last year, and most certainly will not lose 100 games. 

It helps that this team has a lineup that can actually chase good teams. Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom...that's better than the front core of a lot of teams honestly. That's three 30-homer guys, a .300 hitter, a 20 steal guy and possibly a 100 RBI guy, and this is just as they're building. Kurtz has ROY tied up, and that's something even Jacob Wilson, who was a favorite for most of the year, will be alright with. Soderstrom and Butler showed staying power this year, and Langeliers and Rooker had explosive midsummer moments. If they all keep at it and stay synced, this team could take off very soon. I'm very anxious to see which other pieces fill out the team, be it guys like Colby Thomas and Zach Gelof or newer figures. Hell, maybe Carlos Cortes actually becomes a fixture of this team rather than an unsung hero. Who knows?

It's the pitching that makes me concerned that the rebuild may take a little longer. Because yes, John Fisher stocked this team with pitching contracts to ensure they were better this year, but...they weren't very good pitching contrasts. Luis Severino is perfectly serviceable. High ERA, occasional velocity perks. Jeffrey Springs is FINE. Not Rays-level good but fine. He's not the ace though. Lined up behind them you have these guys like Jacob Lopez, J.T. Ginn, Luis Morales and Mason Barnett, and...again, I don't see who the center of this rotation is. There are good performances, like Lopez and Morales, but not a standout one. I guess Morales has a chance, as he's 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA and 34 Ks through his first 7 career starts. It could be Barnett if he figures out MLB hitting. The fact that I can't tell, especially when the lineup is as advanced that it is, isn't a great sign. This is what held back the Padres for all those years, it was just a bunch of guys with no order. You can't bat behind that. 

Look, I could say all this and the A's could line up next year and all this pitching disorder could dissolve to reveal a rotation that knows exactly what they're doing. It just doesn't look that now. It looks BETTER for sure, but I'm just not sure I see where it's going. Unlike the lineup, where the future's very evident. Maybe by the time they get to Vegas they'll have this all worked out.

Coming Tonight: Not a lot of true heroes left in Denver, so here's a decent reliever they forgot to trade.