2014 MLB Team Previews – Athletics
The A’s stunned the baseball world in 2012 , making a shocking comeback to take the AL West championship on the last day of the regular season. Then they followed that up with winning 96 games and taking home their second straight AL West title last season.
Sportsbook’s Odds to Win
AL West: +200
American League: +1000
World Series: +2000
Unfortunately for Oakland, that success was short-lived, after ending the season with a loss in Game 5 of the ALDS to the Tigers.
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Nevertheless, the A’s have been able to keep their roster mainly intact over the offseason, accept for a few minor tweaks, including the departure of All-Star pitcher Bartolo Colon.
Still, Oakland boasts a pretty good, but mostly young pitching staff, which has the potential of getting them back in contention for a championship season.
Probable lineup
1. Jarrod Parker
2. Scott Kazmir
3. Sonny Gray
4. Dan Straily
5. A.J. Griffin
The A’s have at least six quality options and perhaps even more for their starting rotation. And if proven ace Scott Kazmir can continue his comeback story of last year, he could make a huge impact.
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Kazmir dished out a ton of strikeouts all year long in 2013, and his 4.04 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over his final 18 starts, was a testament to his ability to top the A’s rotation. The club will just have to hope that he doesn’t regress to his prior history of injuries and wildness.
Beyond that, the A’s bullpen will once again be good, and will get even better once new-acquired Eric O’Flaherty returns following Tommy John surgery last May. In his last three seasons, the left-hander had a 1.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 124 strikeouts with the Braves.
As for the lineup, Oakland boasts only one player who hit in a certain lineup spot more than 75 times. That was leadoff man Coco Crisp, who made 127 appearances.
Probable rotation
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Josh Donaldson, 3B
3. Jed Lowrie, SS
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. Brandon Moss, 1B
6. Josh Reddick, RF
7. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
8. John Jaso, DH
9. Derek Norris, C
Besides that, the offense ranked third in the AL in runs last season and had four players with at least 22 homers. They were also second in the AL in doubles and fourth in triples.
Overall, looking at this year’s A’s, they aren’t really good at anything in particular, but they aren’t really bad at anything either.
Perhaps the A’s biggest strength this season is their ability to just win games, which is the only thing that really matters, and maybe, their roster depth.
That depth will surly be able to help Oakland absorb injuries unlike most teams, which could figure in heavily at the end of the season.
The AL West is pretty good this year, but the A’s have far less question marks than the rest of the teams in the division. And while their starting lineup is young, and their offense is not chalked full of superstar sluggers, the proof is in the past two years, and a third-straight AL West championship is not too doubtful to imagine.
