Laureano struggling: ‘I’m not worried at all. It’s four games’

Coming off his superb rookie season, Ramón Laureano worked hard during the winter to gain 10 pounds of muscle and he hit three homers this spring to lead the team. He never felt quite right at the plate, though, and with the regular season under way, Laureano has struggled, with two hits in his first 17 at-bats. Manager Bob Melvin gave Laureano the start off Saturday, acknowledging that it was partly to give Laureano a break but just as much to get Mark Canha into the lineup.

Melvin said Laureano might be just “a little anxious” at the plate to open the season. “Trying to get it all back with one swing,” Melvin said. “He’s got some power. But he’ll figure it out . ... Everybody goes through struggles and a lot of expectations on him this year after when what he accomplished last year and you can tend to press a bit.”

Laureano, 24, hit .288 with five homers in 48 games last year after coming up in August, and he is certain the early-season slump will be a short one.

“Things will come quicker than everyone thinks,” Laureano said. “I work hard. I’m not worried at all. It’s four games. There are 158 games yet.”

Melvin and Laureano both say Laureano is getting pitched about the same he was near the end of last season; according to FanGraphs, Laureano saw 52 percent fastballs last year and that percentage is down to 33 percent this year and he’s seeing more changeups and curveballs — in an absurdly small sample size, of course.

“I try to keep everything as simple as possible, but of course I have to make adjustments,” Laureano said. “That’s part of it, it’s a game of adjustments. You know how opponents are going to pitch to you.”

Briefly: Catcher Chris Herrmann, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three weeks ago, said he believes he’ll miss about eight to 10 weeks. Herrmann can’t do any hitting or running yet but is riding the exercise bike . ... Starter Chris Bassitt, struck by a line drive near his right knee March 18 in Tokyo, threw off the mound Friday and he said he’ll throw an extensive bullpen session Sunday. Bassitt, who is on the injured list, is likely to be sent to Triple-A Las Vegas when he has recovered . ... The A’s released infielder Cliff Pennington, who signed a minor-league deal before the season.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser