AL West Update: Oakland Athletics
Overall
The A's are always rock solid and better than they are given credit to and I think that's due to the coaching and the system they have in place for getting the most out of the talent they have. They use the low budget and the years of control they have of players as much as they can. But I fully expect them to be in 2nd place in the West and in the Playoffs for whatever the 2020 season looks like.
The A's were business as usual for the winter. The only signing was P Jake Diekman and exercised an option of P Yumeiro Petit. No big or sexy signings for the A's which is normal. The A's have been a low budget team and SS Semien could have played his last game for the A's if there isn't a 2020 season. Both sides want to get a deal done. But it's hard to see them doing so.
Looking down the line at the guys who are young and upcoming for A's are OF Ramon Laureano, C Sean Murphy, P AJ Puk, P Jesus Luzardo all look to be emerging as building blocks for the A's and have a lot of team control left, but the trend we are seeing for most teams in the MLB is lock them up while they are cheap with backloaded deals.
Shoutout:
If you need to make some extra cash during COVID-19 try Stash-It. The business is like AirBnB but for the self-storage industry. So people can rent out their garage or storage shed, and even their driveway for others to use. If you have space, list it on their website. It’s completely free and they only make money if you do. You set the price! You set the terms! Use the promo code "YOUNG" and use your storage space to make some easy money! Stashitselfstorage.c
Hitting
The A's may be forced to spend a little more money than in the past. With the likes of Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Mark Canha all coming off really good productive seasons. Semien is slated to be a FA at the end of 2020 Chapman and Olson are both a year away from arbitration. To keep the trio of Semien, Chapman, and Olson together for the future then it would really be nice and a serious vote of confidence for a new park or at least a solid upgrade of O.Co Coliseum.
However, The A's did renew the contract of Matt Olsen, which is typical of the A's to pay as little as possible for as long as possible to get the most value out of a player. If he doesn't ink any kind of extension he will his first of 3 arbitration season. Do not be surprised to see him make the rounds through all 3.
The springing ending for the A's kind of wasn't ideal as they were trying to figure out their 2B job. This battle was between Franklin Barreto and Tony Kemp. Both come with value to the A's as Kemp is a good clubhouse presence and can produce ain't RHP pretty well. He could also help the A's in giving Barreto time to build his foundation at the MLB level which won't take long in my opinion.
The A's also have no shortage of talent at the C position. Sean Murphy is the man for A's but he should have either Austin Allen or Jonah Heim behind him. In other places in the field IF Sheldon Neuse, IF Jorge Mateo and OF Luis Barrera all pushing for an MLB spot. But Mateo is the most interesting as his primary spot is 2B and he is out of options and the options ahead of him are well, just better and more promising.
Pitching
Good news for the A's A.J. Puk resumed throwing in early March, which points toward the promising 24yo having and impact in the 2020 season and going forward in the rotation.
The A's along with Puk have other young arms who are ready to make an impact in Jesus Luzardo, Daulton Jefferies, James Kaprielian both of the latter could be seen this season. Would not surprise me as the track record for the A's is pretty good.
I think the A's have one of the more promising young rotations in baseball in Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Mike Fiers, Jesus Luzardo, AJ Puk. This is great for the A's as these guys are young promising and controllable for quite some time.
The A's are always rock solid and better than they are given credit to and I think that's due to the coaching and the system they have in place for getting the most out of the talent they have. They use the low budget and the years of control they have of players as much as they can. But I fully expect them to be in 2nd place in the West and in the Playoffs for whatever the 2020 season looks like.
The A's were business as usual for the winter. The only signing was P Jake Diekman and exercised an option of P Yumeiro Petit. No big or sexy signings for the A's which is normal. The A's have been a low budget team and SS Semien could have played his last game for the A's if there isn't a 2020 season. Both sides want to get a deal done. But it's hard to see them doing so.
Looking down the line at the guys who are young and upcoming for A's are OF Ramon Laureano, C Sean Murphy, P AJ Puk, P Jesus Luzardo all look to be emerging as building blocks for the A's and have a lot of team control left, but the trend we are seeing for most teams in the MLB is lock them up while they are cheap with backloaded deals.
Shoutout:
If you need to make some extra cash during COVID-19 try Stash-It. The business is like AirBnB but for the self-storage industry. So people can rent out their garage or storage shed, and even their driveway for others to use. If you have space, list it on their website. It’s completely free and they only make money if you do. You set the price! You set the terms! Use the promo code "YOUNG" and use your storage space to make some easy money! Stashitselfstorage.c
Hitting
The A's may be forced to spend a little more money than in the past. With the likes of Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Mark Canha all coming off really good productive seasons. Semien is slated to be a FA at the end of 2020 Chapman and Olson are both a year away from arbitration. To keep the trio of Semien, Chapman, and Olson together for the future then it would really be nice and a serious vote of confidence for a new park or at least a solid upgrade of O.Co Coliseum.
However, The A's did renew the contract of Matt Olsen, which is typical of the A's to pay as little as possible for as long as possible to get the most value out of a player. If he doesn't ink any kind of extension he will his first of 3 arbitration season. Do not be surprised to see him make the rounds through all 3.
The springing ending for the A's kind of wasn't ideal as they were trying to figure out their 2B job. This battle was between Franklin Barreto and Tony Kemp. Both come with value to the A's as Kemp is a good clubhouse presence and can produce ain't RHP pretty well. He could also help the A's in giving Barreto time to build his foundation at the MLB level which won't take long in my opinion.
The A's also have no shortage of talent at the C position. Sean Murphy is the man for A's but he should have either Austin Allen or Jonah Heim behind him. In other places in the field IF Sheldon Neuse, IF Jorge Mateo and OF Luis Barrera all pushing for an MLB spot. But Mateo is the most interesting as his primary spot is 2B and he is out of options and the options ahead of him are well, just better and more promising.
Pitching
Good news for the A's A.J. Puk resumed throwing in early March, which points toward the promising 24yo having and impact in the 2020 season and going forward in the rotation.
The A's along with Puk have other young arms who are ready to make an impact in Jesus Luzardo, Daulton Jefferies, James Kaprielian both of the latter could be seen this season. Would not surprise me as the track record for the A's is pretty good.
I think the A's have one of the more promising young rotations in baseball in Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Mike Fiers, Jesus Luzardo, AJ Puk. This is great for the A's as these guys are young promising and controllable for quite some time.
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