They’re young and hungry for more
Talented cast looks to make playoff run after ending last season 17-7
There’s a feeling around baseball that the A’s have restocked their farm system into one that will have them ready to compete for a playoff spot.
There’s just one problem — the target date for that playoff run isn’t expected to come for at least a couple of years. The players think they can speed that process up.
The A’s finished 2017 by going 17-7. They won 16 games in September, their highest win total in a single month since 2014. After the A’s unveiled their new alternate kelly green jerseys at the club’s new offices in Jack London Square on Friday, the players unveiled their own thoughts on how last season’s finish was only a taste of what’s to come.
“Oakland hasn’t gotten the hype that it deserves,” A’s outfielder Dustin Fowler said. “It’s hard to find a young team that’s mature like this. Everyone has one goal in mind here. To win games and make a playoff run.”
Fowler, a touted Yankees prospect acquired in the Sonny Gray deal who will be battling for the center-field job, envisions a playoff run based on the 2017 team’s rookies who exceeded expectations, including Matt Olson and Matt Chapman.
The first baseman Olson smashed 16 home runs in a span of 23 games from Aug. 27-Sept. 22, finishing the year with 24 home runs in just 189 at-bats and a fourth-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Chapman displayed some nifty glovework at third, and often blasted upper deck homers.
Even with just the halfseasons from Olson and Chapman, the A’s still finished fourth in the majors with 234 home runs. So why did they still finish last in the AL West at 75-87? The bullpen was an issue.
A’s relievers combined to blow 25 saves, second-most in baseball. But they believe those woes will be solved with Blake Treinen, the A’s closer who ended 2017 by converting 11 straight save opportunities. The A’s traded away slugger Ryon Healy to the Seattle Mariners for Emilio Pagan, a young right-hander who figures to contend for the setup role. They also signed a versatile Yusmeiro Petit, the former San Francisco Giants postseason hero who enjoyed posted a 2.76 ERA in 91 1/3 innings with the Los Angeles Angels.
From the outside, Petit
witnessed the transformation after the A’s called up the likes of Olson, Chapman and Chad Pinder.
“Watching in Anaheim and facing those guys, they turned into an offense that you can’t slack off against,” Petit said. “Pretty much any batter in that lineup can do damage. Not a lot of teams have this type of lineup. With improvements on the pitching side now, I think we can translate that second-half run into a full season.”
Continuing that run won’t be easy in this division. The Houston Astros, kings of the baseball world, have only gotten stronger by adding former Pirates ace Gerrit Cole to a rotation that already features a pair of No. 1’s in Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. The Angels, desperate to build a playoff team around superstar Mike Trout, have assembled a potent lineup, which will only improve when Japanese star Shohei Ohtani is ready.
But as their division rivals have improved, the A’s have an extra plus in one of the league’s strongest farm systems.
A.J. Puk, the A’s 2016 first-round pick, improved his standing with the club by racking up 184 strikeouts in 125 innings last season in the minors. If he doesn’t make the club out of spring training, a midseason callup is almost a certainty.
Then there’s middle infielder Franklin Barreto, the team’s top positional prospect and a threat on the base paths in addition to posting double-digit home runs.
The slow-developing free agent market also may have A’s executive vice president Billy Beane plotting. With big name pitchers like Alex Cobb, Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta headlining a bevy of valuable arms still on the market, Beane may find himself another good arm at a discount.
Regardless of whatever potential signings occur
in the coming weeks, does an A’s playoff return for the first time since 2014 seem far-fetched? These young A’s don’t think so.
“People know we have great young players, but they don’t know how quick it’s gonna be,” Fowler said. “No doubt we can make a playoff run this year. I think we’ll be happy to prove everyone wrong and show we really are good and we mean business.”
• Bruce Maxwell is expected to be available for the start of spring training. The A’s catcher was arrested last October in Arizona and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after waving a gun at a food delivery driver, and disorderly conduct.
A trial date for Maxwell is set for April 10.
• Pitcher Andrew Triggs, who is coming back from hip surgery, expects to be fully healthy and competing for a spot in the starting rotation in spring training.