San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
PROJECTED LINEUP AND BATTING ORDER
Marcus Semien, SS: He’s coming off a whale of a season in which he finished third in the AL MVP race and put up an 8.9 WAR. Now the question is: Can the A’s sign Semien, a free agent after the season, to a contract extension?
Robbie Grossman/Mark Canha, LF: Canha might wind up with more regular time than Grossman even as part of a platoon, thanks to his teambest .396 OBP last year; he’ll probably play all over the outfield and DH occasionally. With so few lefty bats, though, Grossman will get plenty of starts vs. righthanders.
Matt Chapman, 3B: Another Platinum Glove to his credit, he enters his third full season (is this a full season?) as a bona fide MVP candidate, but he needs to avoid another lateseason fizzle — he hit .178 in September/October. The 60game schedule might help.
Khris Davis, DH: Fully healthy after an injuryriddled season, he hopes to bounce back after dropping to 23 homers following a bigleague best 48 the year before. He’s a streaky hitter, and if he falls into a funk the A’s might have to look at other options.
Matt Olson, 1B: He’s the premier defensive first baseman in the league, and he’s no slouch offensively: He banged 36 homers in 127 games last season after a broken hamate cost him six weeks. Since Sept. 6, 2017, with Olson in the lineup the A’s are 193113. Without him: 1824.
Stephen Piscotty, RF: Injuries kept him out of much of the second half last year, but he was among the top hitters during spring 2.0; the Pleasanton/Stanford product is a good allaround player who was particularly valuable during the 2018 playoff run, but he might cede playing time to Canha this year if not producing.
Ramón Laureano, CF: When he filled in for Piscotty in right last season, Laureano looked just as good as he did in center. Offensively, he’s a spark plug who is getting better as he goes into his second full season.
Tony Kemp/Franklin Barreto, 2B: Kemp probably gets the bulk of time here, given the dearth of lefty bats, which, yet again, will make it tough for Barreto to get everyday playing time. Chad Pinder also could wind up playing second more than expected.
Sean Murphy, C: The rookie has a shot to be among the best defenders at his position in the game, but will he hit? In 20 games last year, he batted .245 with four homers. The A’s have the luxury of two other young catchers, Austin Allen and Jonah Heim, to spell Murphy, who has had some knee injuries the past two years.
Rotation
Frankie Montas, RH: The A’s starters are pretty interchangeable, but Montas came into spring 2.0 way ahead of everyone after some serious workouts during the break, hitting 100 mph. He’s driven to make up for missing much of last year after a suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
Sean Manaea, LH: He was almost unhittable in September when he returned from shoulder surgery, going 40 with a 1.21 ERA, and he said he learned a ton about himself when he took the loss in the wildcard game against the Rays. He, too, is extra driven this season.
Mike Fiers, RH: The reliable workhorse went 154 last year. As a central figure in the Astros cheating scandal — Fiers is the one named whistleblower — he has been under a lot of extra scrutiny. Will that affect him? With no fans in the stands, it might not matter.
A.J. Puk, LH: He is itching to get back to starting after working in relief last fall. The “reins are off ” rookies Puk and Luzardo, manager Bob Melvin said, so he might not have any innings restrictions. The Randy Johnson clone looked great at Camp Coliseum.
Jesús Luzardo, LH/Chris Bassitt, RH: Luzardo might be behind to start the season after a positive coronavirus test, but he’ll be on the roster. He might need to work in tandem with Bassitt or work in relief initially to get his innings built up to start. Bassitt is likely to make some starts — he’s now a valuable, versatile piece.