7 Reasons to Be Optimistic for the Oakland Athletics' 2015 Season
You there, Debbie Downer! Don't be pessimistic about the Oakland A's this season. There is plenty to be encouraged about.
New team? No problem.
The A's may have suffered quite a bit of turnover this offseason, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. In fact, the current roster could turn out to be even better than the 2014 team. We shall see.
Not buying it?
Here's what you should be optimistic about.
That One Guy, Sonny Gray
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Have you heard of him? He's kind of a big deal.
He doesn't crack 6' or 200 pounds, but Sonny Gray can still make the baddest dudes in Major League Baseball flinch.
Armed with a fastball that averages 93 mph, Gray strikes out around 20 percent while walking just eight percent of batters faced, which is above average in both categories according to FanGraphs.com. He also gets about 50 percent of his outs via groundouts, which is likely due to the wicked curveball shown in the link above.
He has 250 career strikeouts, and so far, he has kept his ERA at 2.99. Of those who did get on base against him, Gray has left over 70 percent stranded.
Never be pessimistic when Gray starts—ever.
Oh and Those Other Guys Behind Gray
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With Gray on the hill, you should feel pretty confident about the A's probability of winning. But the guys behind him are no slouches.
After Gray, you'll see newbie Jesse Hahn.
In 73.1 innings pitched with the San Diego Padres one season ago, Hahn struck out 8.59 hitters per nine innings. He finished the season with a 3.40 FIP and allowed 25 earned runs for an ERA of 3.07.
The fact that the A's feel so confident in Hahn that they've made him their No. 2 starter should tell you exactly how much potential he has.
Behind him is veteran Scott Kazmir.
Kazmir rejuvenated his career last season in Oakland, finishing with 15 wins, an ERA of 3.55 (an even more impressive FIP of 3.35) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.28. The hope is that he continues to produce at around the same rate. Of course, better would be nice, too.
The final two spots likely go to Drew Pomeranz and Kendall Graveman. Both pitchers have shown incredible stuff during spring training.
Graveman leads the team in spring training innings pitched at 21.1. In that time, he's kept his ERA down to a silly 0.42. Pomeranz is right behind him with 17.2 innings pitched. He has kept a 2.04 ERA.
But ERA isn't everything.
OK. Pomeranz has struck out 25 batters, which is the most on the team. He's walked eight. Graveman has 11 strikeouts to four walks.
Now Graveman has some major league experience, albeit short. Still, in 4.2 innings, he struck out four, walked none and allowed four hits. During his minor league career, he never walked more than 10 percent of batters faced.
Pomeranz, if you remember, was chugging along last season before breaking his hand. But in the few appearances after his return, his really lit it up to the tune of one run allowed in three games and a 5.33 K/BB ratio.
So the A's have Gray at the top, Kazmir with the veteran experience, Pomeranz looking like he's picked up where he left off and new guys Hahn and Graveman doing serious damage in spring.
Are you not entertained?
Then There Are the Guys Behind Those Guys
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"Jesse Hahn, Drew Pomeranz and Kendall Graveman aren't proven."
"Scott Kazmir is old."
"Any of them could get hurt."
Pick a concern, any concern. The counter is pitching depth.
Waiting in the wings behind the five men in the starting rotation is about a second rotation worth of other starters.
The A's could dip into their bullpen and use Jesse Chavez, who shined one season ago as a starter before fatigue caught up to him late in the season. They could call up any one of Chris Bassitt, Arnold Leon, Sean Nolin or Barry Zito if he's still around. And at midseason, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin return from injuries.
If one guy falls, it's next man up.
Seriously, don't worry about this staff until you see eight pitchers fail.
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Speaking of New Guys...
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Ben Zobrist, Billy Butler, Marcus Semien, Brett Lawrie and Ike Davis were signed in the offseason and will make up nearly half of the A's lineup in 2015.
It's sad to see guys like Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss go. When they were traded, it made many fans nervous. But after a few weeks of spring training, the optimism should be restored.
"But it's just spring training."
That may be, but Zobrist, Butler, Lawrie and Davis have been around the block. So spring is simply a glimpse of things to come, things they've been doing their entire careers. The team may have lost two 30-home run guys, but they replaced them with four 15-home run guys.
And that's not even including Semien, who began spring training on fire.
Sure, it's just spring training. But be optimistic that spring is a sign of things to come. I mean, you wouldn't want these guys to be cold all of spring and find their groove in July. Imagine instead how much of a confidence boost spring training has been for the guys who hit well early on.
Bench Depth
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Just like pitching, the position players have quality depth behind them as well.
At first base, the A's have Mark Canha. He has turned 65 spring training at-bats into 17 hits, six doubles, four home runs and nine RBI. He has also scored 11 runs. Lastly, Canha can play both corner outfield spots.
The infield has veteran Eric Sogard.
He's had an average career thus far, but he's efficient in a limited role. He's shown in the past that he is able to hit .266 with an on-base percentage of .322 in 130 games in 2013. He also has an above-average glove and can play second, shortstop and third base.
Behind him on the totem pole is Tyler Ladendorf.
He hasn't had a chance at the big leagues yet, but an impressive spring camp put him on the fast track to see time if anyone is injured. Ladendorf knocked in 12 runs on 17 hits.
Backup catcher Josh Phegley impressed with two home runs, 11 RBI and some sorely missed defense behind the plate.
And who can forget Billy Burns?
Burns leads all of baseball in hits during spring, with 27. He's added four stolen bases and has walked almost as many times as he's struck out.
Don't Forget the Bullpen
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To close out games, the A's have two-time All-Star Tyler Clippard.
Clippard boasts an average of 10 strikeouts per nine innings to 3.6 walks. He's kept his WHIP under 1.00 in two consecutive seasons and three out of the last four. He also has closing experience, notching 32 saves in 2012.
In front of him is Eric O'Flaherty.
Coming off of Tommy John surgery last season, O'Flaherty struck out 15 and walked four in 20 innings. His WHIP the last two shortened seasons has been around 0.950.
There is also Dan Otero and Fernando Abad.
In a whopping 86.2 innings as a reliever, Otero held down an ERA of 2.28, with a K/BB ratio of 3.00. Abad finished with an even better ERA of 1.57, the same amount of walks and six more strikeouts in nearly 30 fewer innings.
Chavez will likely move back into the bullpen, adding a dangerous long-relief option who excelled (temporarily) as a starter. Should someone get into trouble, Chavez provides what will feel like a sixth starter.
The A's clearly feel good about their bullpen, as evidenced by their decision to send down former All-Star Ryan Cook. If he can work things out, his return would add another dynamic arm.
If he can't, or if the pen suffers an injury, R.J. Alvarez could play savior.
Alvarez destroyed Double-A ball in 2014. MLB Pipeline touts his stuff as being good enough that he could skip Triple-A altogether if need be.
And lest we forget All-Star closer Sean Doolittle.
Doolittle finished the 2014 season with a K/BB ratio of 11.13, which was the second best in baseball. Once he returns, opposing teams are going to have a tough time scoring runs against anyone in the bullpen.
BIlly Beane Magic
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Billy Beane is a wizard.
One minute you can be so angry with a move he's made that you want to put in 45 minutes with a punching bag. But then the plan comes together in the end and you see the A's are in about the same spot they were before that first move was even made, but with new, younger talent.
As for the 2015 season specifically, Beane may not be done. He doesn't operate on a schedule. The season is 12 months and 365 days long. A move can be made whenever he needs one to happen.
So why be optimistic?
Because if the A's are close to the top of the division near the trade deadline, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Beane pull off a move.
See Jeff Samardzija on July 4, 2014. See Jon Lester on July 31, 2014.
You can argue one or both didn't work out. But at least he tried. And that's a positive.
Now if the A's aren't contending and are dwindling to the bottom of the AL West instead, then your optimism is allowed to lessen. But again, it's Billy Beane we're talking about—which means a blockbuster trade that adds a half-dozen new farm system pieces is always an option, which should get you excited for the team down the road...once again.
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