Athletics Update: So Much For That Edition

 

Did y'all enjoy the brief instance where the Sacramento Athletics were in second place? Wasn't it fun? Well, after a 2-9 skid, that's all a thing of the past. After a good couple weeks of looking pretty decent, the A's have returned to their regularly scheduled mediocrity. Yet...there still exists the slightest chance of a rebound.

The Athletics, for the first time in a while, have multiple people they can seriously count on. J.P. Sears and Luis Severino in the rotation, Soderstrom, Rooker and Wilson at the plate, Holman and Sterner in the 'pen, and potentially people like Butler and Miller if they stop slumping. The core is finally developing, and you can actually see an identity in this A's team. Which is ironic, considering that until this team gets to Vegas, they're in their single most anonymous era of the team's history. Even the Kansas City teams had an aesthetic to this. What are people gonna say about the lasting historical appeal of the No Use For a Location A's? Sacramento has its own basketball team, it has name brand recognition, but apparently not enough for a baseball team to allow the use of it. 

Jacob Wilson is the kind of player a team like the A's can base the next couple years off of. He's an extraordinary contact hitter, already hitting .343 with 26 RBIs, and he's the highest valued position player with a 1.4 WAR. So far he seems to be a reverse negative of his father Jack, who played for the Pirates for most of the 2000s. Jack was a defensive whiz at short but only really contact hit during his peak season in 2004. Meanwhile, Jacob is an excellent contact guy with below-average shortstop ability. Hopefully he works on that as the A's essentially give him the position. I'm excited for the prospect of a Wilson-Gelof DP combo, with no offense towards Luis Urias, who's been above average filling 2nd so far. 

The rookies have also been pretty exciting. Gunnar Hoglund has 3 starts under his belt and has a 3.78 ERA with 15 Ks. With J.T. Ginn down, he seems like a pretty sturdy solution at SP5. Meanwhile, both Justin Sterner and Grant Holman have been excellent bullpen pieces in their first full seasons of MLB play. Not every 2025 rookie has completely met expectations, as Max Muncy needed more time in the minors and Nick Kurtz hasn't gone above .200 yet, but the A's are building this at the correct pace.

Even if the A's got swept in the bay area classic, and lost a series against the Dodgers, they're not exactly out of the race. It's still May, there's still a peak underdog period ahead, and there are still pieces the team can regain that can make them good again. If something doesn't happen this year, I predict there'll be a competitive team once the Vegas residency begins.

Coming Tomorrow- A team so bad, even the breakout catcher seems like a disappointment.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Athletics

 

I think it's a better outcome that the last Athletics season in Oakland wasn't a complete failure. Because you think about recent exoduses, and the last Expos season in Montreal was that terrible, the last Astros season in the NL was that terrible, and the last Marlins season before the rebrand was regrettable. But this A's season had more dignity than you might have expected. An honest-to-God MVP candidate with nearly 40 home runs, a Rookie of the Year candidate with some unhittable 100mph stuff, 11 wins out of J.P. Sears and a genuine breakout season from Lawrence Butler. There is genuine promise as this team moves inland to Sacramento, and with a 4th place finish this year, something could conceivably happen going forward.

While Zach Gelof got a ton of playing time this year, Tyler Soderstrom, who came up right when Gelof did last year, struggled with injuries and being blocked at his position. In 61 games he hit .233 with 9 homers and 26 RBIs. I think he just needs a full season with no distractions and something will develop, as it has for people like Butler, Gelof and Bleday.

2024 Prediction: 30 homers and the reins of 1B.

When the A's came to Philly last year I attended a game, and I like that they still commemorate the rivalry from when both teams played in the same city, despite that being like 3 locations ago for the A's. Anyway the A's started Hogan Harris that night, which is funny, cause 'haaa, you're in Philly and you're starting a guy whose name sounds like 'hoagie'', and he did...alright. I mean Harris was a swing guy all season, started some games, longman in others. He walked away with a relatively competent season, a 2.86 ERA in 72 innings, 9 starts. Definitely a handy guy to have around, though I'm not sure how many starts he'll get next year.

2025 Prediction: Whatever role, he'll be a reliable innings-eater for these guys even if the team isn't great.

In the category of 'whatever happened to', Miguel Andujar had an incredible rookie season for the Yankees in 2018, nearly winning a Rookie of the Year. He never really matched up to that for the Yanks after that, due to both injuries and seasons that really just weren't as good. In 2022 the Yanks dumped him in Pittsburgh, and he's bopped around without much notice since then. But this year, the A's gave him a chance for an OF position and he was a decent replacement option. In 75 games, ultimately cut short by an injury, Andujar hit .285 with 86 hits, 30 RBIs and 4 homers. Proof that the man can still produce.

2025 Prediction: I don't even know, man, he's too inconsistent. Uhh...less of a lineup presence but with his occasional moments off the bench?

And very late in the season, the A's brought up their 2023 first rounder, the 6th overall pick Jacob Wilson, to improve the middle infield. Wilson had been hitting .450 in AA and .400 in AAA, and so he was basically ready. In 28 MLB games, the 22-year old hit .250 with 23 hits and 3 RBIs. He's young, he's new to the majors, he's coming into his own. As evident by Butler, Gelof and Miller, he'll get there.

2025 Prediction: ROY candidate.

Coming Tomorrow- Surprisingly a lot of Blue Jays I didn't get to this year.