Oakland Athletics - Articles - Zimbio

Oakland's Call To Arms

Sat, 9 Mar 2008 22:28:00 GMT

posted by mlbrumors
Although the Oakland Athletics have not been very active in scouting in the Dominican Republic and other places in Latin America, they have developed some of their young players very well. Not only that, but they have gone out and acquired some very solid pitchers. There is no doubt in my mind that in a couple years, maybe even 2009, the Athletics will be contending for the playoffs. They have Joe Blanton leading the rotation, but he is likely to be traded for more prospects either this season or next offseason. Billy Beane said Rich Harden is looking better than ever, so expect him to lead that rotation. Some of the players they acquired via trade this off season are really turning heads in Spring Training. I'm going to start with Joey Devine, the pitcher they got in the Mark Kotsay trade. Devine is a hard throwing right hander who will probably set up for Huston Street. He moves the ball very well, and if Street and Devine do well, it will probably lead to a Street trade for prospects so Devine could close.

In the Nick Swisher trade, the A's acquired well traveled Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney. Gonzalez, 22, is one of the top young pitchers in the A's organization. He throws hard, he is starting to mature, and he is starting to command his second and third pitches better. He has done well in the action he has seen and could see MLB time this season. He should help the team down the road.

In the trade that sent Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks, the A's got pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith. Beane told me that Eveland has the best chance to make the club out of camp, but Smith is showing he has what it takes to pitch regularly in the MLB. One scout said he is surprisingly deceptive for his age. He is also a lefty, which should help because the Athletics pitching favors righties.

Finally, Henry Rodriguez is probably the top pitcher in Athletics camp so far. He went 6-8 with a 3.07 ERA in Single-A last season but scouts are raving about the 21 year old. Peter Gammons talked to a scout talking about Henry Rodriguez: "The best young pitcher I've seen in two years out here is Oakland's Henry Rodriguez. He throws 98 with a devastating breaking ball." Gammons says he is nineteen but he is listed at twenty-one (here we go again).

Assuming these guys can stay healthy, we are looking at a nasty starting rotation by 2010:

SP Rich Harden
SP Gio Gonzalez
SP Chad Gaudin
SP Greg Smith
SP Henry Rodriguez

CP Joey Devine

Now, I assuming the A's will trade Joe Blanton and Huston Street, and I am also assuming that Lenny DiNardo will be out of the rotation. I am optimistic that the A's prospects will come through, but even if the A's go out and bring in a veteran, they will have a lot of depth in their rotation. Plain and simple, the Mariners and Angels will be facing more competition in their division in a season or two.

2008 MLB Preview: Oakland A’s

Fri, 8 Mar 2008 20:21:00 GMT

posted by highlite15

Explanation of ratings system and other team previews here

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

Ranks

Overall – 69 points (26th MLB, 11th AL)
Starting Rotation – 26 points (22nd MLB, 9th AL)
Line-Up – 29 points (26th MLB, 12th AL)
Bench/Bullpen/Defense – 14 points (T-18th MLB, T-9th AL)

Offseason Additions – Carlos Gonzalez, Dana Eveland
Offseason Subtractions – Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, Marco Scutaro

Biggest Strength- Farm System

When you trade your best pitcher and best hitter in the same offseason, its clear that you are in rebuilding mode. However, GM Billy Beane is very good at getting good value in his trades (even though he’ll just trade the prospects away once they get good in the majors, but that’s another story). After this off-season, Baseball Prospectus has then ranked as the 2nd best farm system in league, behind only the ridiculous Rays system. Daric Barton, Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez could have the A’s competitive again in a couple years.

Biggest Weakness- Offense

There is just not much here that is going to scare opposing pitchers. Eric Chavez could almost be categorized as a below-average offensive third-baseman at this point. SS Bobby Crosby, once mentioned as an MVP candidate, has never lived up to the hype. They have plenty of young players including Barton, Gonzalez, Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck who could step and surprise, but none of them have proven they can perform consistently yet.

Key Player in ’08– Rich Harden

Harden has never pitched 200 inning in a single season, and hasn’t even pitched 150 since 2004. However, when he does pitch, he’s a true ace. In his 2nd full year (2005), Harden was on his way to a potential Cy Young (10-5, 2.46 ERA, 121 K in 128 IP) when he got hurt. He has only pitched 72 innings in the last two years combined. However, he is pitching in spring training and appears to be healthy. He’s 26, so he can certainly come back from injury, if he does so this year, it will be a big boost to the A’s (or just give Beane someone new to trade).

Player to Keep an Eye On– Daric Barton

Barton was the key piece in the Mark Mulder deal a couple years ago. He has been the top prospect in the A’s system since then and hit .347 with 4 HR in 74 ABs with the big league squad last year. This will be his first full year in the majors and it will be very interesting to see what kind of numbers he can put up.

Outlook/Prediction– 3rd Place, AL West. The A’s missed their chance with Hudson, Mulder, Zito, Giambi and Tejada and are now in full fledged rebuilding mode. Billy Beane is a good talent evaluator so it’s possible they will have a resurgence in a couple years. As for 2008, if everything goes right for the A’s, they will be a .500 team, but if they young players have growing pains and Harden can’t get on the mound it could very well be a long season.

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Welcome to Zimbio!

Wed, 30 Mar 2006 01:11:29 GMT

posted by trebek
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