Oakland Athletics Summer Check Up

Oakland Athletics

31-29 (4th in AL West)



Eye Popping Number

0

On April 21st, Sean Manaea gave up 0 hits to the Major’s best offense in the Boston Red Sox, throwing the first no hitter of the 2018 season. It was a masterful performance as he struck out 10 and walked only 2 batters. When you look at all the Red Sox have done offensively this season, throwing a no hitter against them is even more impressive. Manaea helped foreshadow the pitching dominance in baseball this season as there have now been 26 pitching outings that have gone 6+ innings of no hit ball, with 2 others other than Manaea going the distance. His start to remember was just the cherry on top of his fantastic April.

Biggest Surprise

Last year at the trade deadline, the Athletics traded two of their bullpen stalwarts to Washington for Blake Treinen and prospects. Treinen had been a guy with great stuff for a relief pitcher, but was pretty inconsistent, which lead to him losing the Nationals closing job early in last season. After coming to the A’s though, he’s become an elite closer this season. His swing and miss percentage has jumped up from a career 11.6% to 18.1% and hitter’s contact rates against him have gone down from 75.6% in his career to 65.6%. This, along with his high ground ball rate and low home run per fly ball rate, has made him the fourth most valuable relief pitcher in baseball so far this year, tied with Sean Doolittle, who he was traded for last year.  

Player to Watch

Jed Lowrie has been consistently average throughout his career, which is a great way to have an extended MLB career, but this year he’s really turned it on. He’s currently on pace to set a career high in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs and RBIs. He has the same weighted runs created as Jose Altuve this season (132), meaning he has created runs 32% better than the average hitter this season. With a young lineup, the A’s need a veteran leader and Lowrie has filled that role admirably this year.

What to Watch for at the Deadline


With all that said about Lowrie and Treinen, there’s a decent chance they could be playing for different teams come the trade deadline. Right now the A’s are only 5.5 games back for the second wild card spot, so the next month will be crucial in deciding if the team will be buyers or sellers. If they end up falling back, Lowrie and Treinen will likely bring back the biggest returns. Khris Davis could also be on the move. If they do stay in the running for a wild card slot though, it'll be reminiscent of the Houston Astros in 2015 where a young team is a couple years ahead of schedule in their rebuild. Similarly to how the Astros traded for an outfielder and starting pitcher at the deadline that season, the A’s could target Leonys Martin and Fransisco Liriano (Detroit).

*All stats as of 6/4 via fangraphs.com and baseball-reference.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 2019 Houston Texans Offseason Blueprint

Image
Well, it’s that time of year again. Football season is over (the NFL season, I should say, as I just watched a game of the Alliance of American Football) and the Houston Texans didn’t win the Super Bowl, extending their streak to 16 years since their inception. While there were moments of hope this season, epitomized by a nine game winning streak and a division championship, there were also moments of doubt that the team was as good as their record. Now, owner, Cal McNair, general manager, Brian Gaine, and head coach, Bill O’Brien, have to figure out how to replicate the moments of hope while eliminating the doubt that surrounds the franchise. Luckily for them, I’m available for hire. Or they can just read this blog for free. However they decide to come to their decisions, this is what they need to do to get to Super Bowl LIV. There is good news and bad news going into the offseason. The good news is that the team has the seventh most cap space to work wit...
Read more

2015 World Series Preview

Image
Starting on Tuesday, the New York Mets will play the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. According to ESPN at the beginning of the season, none of these teams were predicted to reach the World Series, much less win it. But here they are, and both worthy of being here, and looking to win the last game of the season. Some history between the two teams: The last time the Royals were in the World Series was... well, last year. However the last time they won was back in 1985. Best known for one of the worst calls in MLB history, the Royals came back in game 6 to force game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals and ended up winning it all. Until recently, they have been the doormat of baseball. Consistently getting top 5 overall draft picks. Lately, those top draft picks have come to fruition as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon lead not only a potent offense but arguably the best defense in the game. Last year, they were Cinderella but the clock struck midnight on th...
Read more

The Astros and the 2015 MLB Playoffs

Image
Can we all just take a second and think about the Houston Astros being in the playoffs? Yes, those Astros that lost 111 games and had only four players put up a WAR (wins above replacement) of 2.0 in 2013. Those Astros that lost 22 games more than they won last season, and considered that a huge success... those Astros. They are in the playoffs. It may seem like a shock that they almost didn't even make the playoffs thanks to an abysmal road record and late surges by the Rangers and Angels, but the fact of the matter is that no one pegged them to be contenders until maybe  next year. As a homer, and with a completely biased opinion, I imagined them playing somewhere around .500 ball with a shot at the wild card and absolutely no shot at the division with the Mariners having lofty expectations, the Angels having the best record in baseball last year, and the Rangers one of the top payrolls in all of baseball.  But no. These Astros wanted to compete this year. And her...
Read more