Struggling A's shrug off `exceptional' bat
Oakland refrains from promoting catcher Langeliers
OAKLAND >> Going into Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, an A's team that had just two hits on Monday and had been held to one run or fewer in six of its last 11 games was desperate for an infusion of offense.
It appears the A's fan base is as well, as Oakland drew just 2,488 fans to the Coliseum on Monday, the team's lowest non-pandemic crowd since 1980.
Meanwhile, 559 miles away, its Triple-A team in Las Vegas has one of the hottest power hitters in the minor leagues.
Which begs the question: Why has a team that has used 37 players, the second-most in the majors, not made a move to promote catcher Shea Langeliers?
Langeliers, acquired in the deal that sent first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, is tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in home runs with nine and is fourth with 21 RBIs. He's hitting .316 for the Aviators and has a .422 onbase percentage. His OPS of 1.133 is off the charts. He has almost as many walks (13) as strikeouts (16).
MLB.com ranks Langeliers as the No. 2 prospect in the A's organization.
The A's are paying attention, but Langeliers wasn't included in their transactions Tuesday, when infielder Nick Allen was returned to Las Vegas and Lou Trivino was activated from the COVID-19 list. Drew Jackson also came off the COVID list, and he'll rejoin the Aviators as well.
The decision when and if to promote Langeliers won't rest with A's manager Mark Kotsay, but rather executive vice president Billy Beane, general manager David Forst and assistant GM Dan Feinstein.
They'll weigh Langeliers' production against his competition, and then assess whether bringing him to the big club in a parttime role would be beneficial to his long-term development.
“I think he's swinging the bat exceptional, but when you dive into the pure data and the quality of Triple-A and how it relates, you've got to use both your data and your eyes,” Kotsay said. “We'll jump into that deeper, but there is a difference between competing at the major league level every day and playing in TripleA.”
Mickey McDonald, an outfielder who was with the A's and has rejoined Las Vegas, was awestruck by Langeliers' power.
“His batting practice was jaw-dropping,” McDonald said. “One of the more special batting practices I've ever seen. He hits the ball so hard all over the field.”
Stats tend to get blown up in the PCL. A drive that would clear the fence in most of the league's venues may not even reach the warning track in Oakland, depending on the time of day. Catcher Austin Allen, who was designated for assignment Monday by the A's, hit 20 home runs and had 53 RBIs in 72
games last season with the Aviators.
If Langeliers played another position, he'd probably be getting a look. At this point, however, the most established starter on the big league club is catcher Sean Murphy, who started his 18th game Tuesday night and was a DH in five others. He's missed only one game all season.
The A's currently have Christian Bethancourt, who can also play the infield, backing up Murphy. Veteran Stephen Vogt is working his way back from a knee injury.
While there may be no immediate plans to promote Langeliers, at some point the A's will want to see what they've got. The A's No. 1 prospect and 2020 first-round draft choice, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, is currently playing for HighA Lansing and won't be far behind. Langeliers was the No. 9 pick in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft out of Baylor, and along with center fielder Cristian Pache, were the prize prospects who came over in the Olson deal.
The Braves thought enough of Langeliers to keep him on their taxi squad during the World Series championship run, meaning he was an injury away from playing time in the postseason.
“It was a super awesome experience just being around those guys,” Langeliers told MLB.com in March. “How they take care of themselves, how they go about their game days, all the game-planning before the game, to get to experience that and watch.”
Langeliers came with the reputation of being an excellent defender as he threw out 31 runners with the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Braves last season. As role models go, Langeliers chose a pretty good one.
“I just loved watching Buster Posey when he was coming up,” Langeliers said. “He's a great defensive catcher, can really swing the bat. That's kind of pushed me to start loving catching.”
TRIVINO'S RETURN >> After 15 days on the COVID-19 list, Trivino was back on the roster, said he felt great and was ready for any role Kotsay and pitching coach Scott Emerson had in mind. In a rehab start in Single-A Stockton, Trivino gave up five hits and five runs but had zero concerns.
“I thought the stuff was great,” Trivino said. “They were ambushing the first pitch and I was just throwing first-pitch fastballs. I was there to work on something and not necessarily the outcome.”
ALLEN'S DEPARTURE >> Nick Allen, the A's No. 4 prospect, hit .211 in eight games at shortstop and second base during his first stint as a major leaguer.
“He got his feet on the ground and he got to experience what the speed of the major league game looks like on all levels, offensively and defensively, “Kotsay said. “The basic message to Nick was to go get at-bats, play every day.”