2018 Pre-Season Profile: Oakland Athletics

#25

The Oakland A's always ride a fine line between tanking and competing.  Will they be relevant in 2018?

2017 Predictions

4th in AL West

Half of the A's Opening Day roster will be traded by the end of the season.

2017 Results

75-87, 5th in AL West

2017 was another below average season for the A's.  It was not that long ago that they were trading for guys like Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija mid-season to make a deep run in the playoffs.  Now they are hardly recognizable from that playoff team.  They have spent the last few seasons building up a new young core to lead them moving forward.  As for the prediction of roster turnover, about half of the players that played Opening Day last season are no longer in the Oakland organization.

Additions / Subtractions

There was once again a decent amount of roster turnover for Oakland this offseason.  They spent some resources building up their bullpen, bringing in a young arm in Emilio Pagan (trading slugger Ryon Healy) and a veteran in Yusmeiro Petit (free agency).  The biggest moves they made that can have lasting impacts are the signing of All Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy and the trade for outfielder Stephen Piscotty.  These are moves that have the potential to help Oakland right now, showing they feel they are getting close to competing again.

Most Important Hitter

Stephen Piscotty

The trade for Piscotty was, reportedly, to get him closer to home for family reasons.  However, it was a great move for Oakland that may pay off well.  Piscotty was touted as the next great All Star outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals several years ago when he made his debut.  However, he rarely showed signs of eclipsing the lofty expectations put upon him.  If he can find some more production in a place that may be more comfortable for him, this could turn out to be a steal for the A's and a potential centerpiece of their new wave of young talent.

Most Important Pitcher

Sean Manaea

Only a couple years ago, Sean Manaea was the A's top prospect looking to break onto the scene.  Now, Manaea is actually one of their more experienced starters.  He is also on the verge of breaking out and showing what he can really do.  He showed flashes of brilliance last season, but it was inconsistent.  It is time for Manaea to show if he will be a star for the A's moving forward.

Prospect to Watch

A.J. Puk

The first round pick of the A's in the 2016 draft, A.J. Puk is a big left-handed pitcher that seems to be on the fast track to the big leagues.  In his first full season of professional baseball, he led all of the minor leagues with 13.2 strikeouts per 9 innings.  The A's will probably be looking to give some youngsters a chance to show what they can do at some point this season, and the debut of Puk will not only be one of them but will probably be one that make some noise around baseball.

2018 Prediction

5th in AL West

Let's start with the good news.  The A's are looking to finally have this new young core starting to emerge.  Players like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Stephen Piscotty, and Dustin Fowler are going to be mainstays in their lineup for the foreseeable future.  As they grow together, they will start to compete and be relevant again.  The A's will probably be better this year than they were last year.  Now the bad news.  The A's are stuck in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball right now.  The Angels and Mariners are both expected to make strides towards a postseason berth, the Rangers can never be counted out of being relevant every year, and the Astros are the reigning World Champions.  The A's are heading in the right direction, but their record might now show it in 2018.

Fearless Prediction

Khris Davis will be the starting DH for the AL in the All Star Game.

Kris Davis has quietly become one of the more prolific power hitters over the past few seasons.  In 2017, he had 43 home runs and 110 RBI's.  This followed up a 2016 season of almost identical numbers.  His biggest knock has been poor defense, but if he stays the designated hitter for the A's this season, he has a chance to finally be recognized.  There is some great competition in this spot, but Davis has a chance to really shine in 2018.