The Oakland Athletics pitching staff is not quite up to par as a whole if you use the successful backdrop of last season as a barometer. But decent performances and excellent individual parts, like Bartolo Colon and Grant Balfour, are keeping the A's afloat as Oakland's offense rains down on opponents.Those two pitchers are clear favorites for the top spot in a power ranking of the A's hurlers who have logged at least 20 innings (sorry, Thursday winner Jesse Chavez). Beyond them is the real question, especially considering the sophomore slumping of three returning starters.Before Thursday's victory over the New ...
Before the season began, I predicted the Oakland Athletics would win 92 games and just miss the playoffs. After two months and a chance to re-evaluate, the odds to win the division are better, but only barely.There's great reason to believe the A's can legitimately compete for the AL West crown. There won't be any come-from-behind surprises this year. In fact, if anyone still thinks this team is a fluke, they clearly haven't watched enough baseball.It's not my doubt in the A's, it's the talented competition that causes concern.Let's take a look at a few roadblocks standing in Oakland's way, ...
For one moment, Nick LeGrande got to feel like a kid again.Forced to stay indoors with a rare blood disease, Nick was able to throw out the first pitch prior to Wednesday's game between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that Nick threw it from Kansas City.How was it done? According to the Associated Press (via ESPN), all it took was a little bit of technology.
LeGrande and his family, including parents Mike and Shari, were taken to a mini baseball stadium. It was constructed by Google at its Kansas ...
After 66 games, the Oakland A's have established themselves among the best teams in the major leagues with a 39-27 record.In the process, the A's have received stellar performances from multiple players who have merited consideration for the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York.To put that idea into proper perspective, the only time that Oakland sent more than one player to the All-Star Game in the past eight years was in 2010 when Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey were chosen.Oakland has not sent multiple position players to the Midsummer Classic since 1991 and no position player has ...
The most pleasant surprise for the Oakland A's this year has been the performance of catcher-turned-third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson was hot at the end of 2012 after a call-up from Triple-A Sacramento and has continued his hot hitting in 2013.With the success that Donaldson has had at the plate—a .324 batting average and .394 on-base percentage—he is getting a push from A's fans to be sent to the All-Star Game. Donaldson is starting to get the attention that he deserves, as he recently surpassed Kevin Youkilis of the New York Yankees for the fifth spot in votes at third ...
Last Thursday, the Oakland Athletics marched into Chicago as the hottest team in the American League. The red-hot A’s had won 16 of their previous 19 games entering a four-game set against the White Sox, a team that was swept by the Athletics in Oakland the week prior. But somehow, Chicago’s famous cold wind knocked the Athletics on their keisters, as the two teams split the series, with the host winning the final two contests over the weekend. The two-game losing streak does not dismay the confident Athletics. More, it speaks to how underrated—and underachieving—the White Sox are as a ...
Player: A.J. VanegasDrafted by: Oakland Athletics (No. 581 overall) Position: RHP DOB: 8/16/1992 (Age: 20) Height/Weight: 6'3"/215 lbs Bats/Throws: R/R School: Stanford Previously Drafted: 2010: seventh-round pick by San Diego Padres Background While obviously not as hyped as that other Stanford pitcher this year, A.J. Vanegas is going to carve out a good career for himself as a two-pitch reliever. He garnered a lot of attention three years ago as a very raw, very talented high school pitcher and has lived up to some of the hype. Being limited to the bullpen does limit his ultimate ceiling, though it pushed him down a lot of draft boards, ...
There's a whole new crop of Oakland Athletics prospects, but are any of them the next Addison Russell, who skipped to the top of the list as soon as he arrived?Here's the long and short of it: No. At least, not yet.After the first few rounds, the A's have 14 (as of this writing) young men joining the organization, each with hopes of one day suiting up in the green and gold. Some will get the chance to live that dream, others will get a small glimpse and the rest will regrettably never play in the Coliseum as a professional ...
Player: Dustin DriverDrafted by: Oakland Athletics (No. 221 overall) Position: RHP DOB: 10/11/1994 (Age: 18) Height/Weight: 6'2"/210 lbs Bats/Throws: R/R School: Wenatchee HS (Washington) College Commitment: UCLA Background Driver has the frame and present stuff to be one of the best high school pitchers in this class. He is aggressive and unafraid to challenge hitters, which is something that most young pitchers have to learn. After shining on the summer showcase circuit last year, Driver is still learning to pitch and harness his secondary stuff. But he has shown more than enough stuff throughout the last 12 months to warrant a selection in the first five ...
Player: Bobby WahlDrafted by: Oakland Athletics (No. 161 overall)Position: RHPDOB: 3/21/1992 (Age: 21)Height/Weight: 6'3"/210 lbsBats/Throws: R/RSchool: MississippiPreviously Drafted: 2010, 39th round by Indians
Background Wahl has come a long way since being selected in the 39th round three years ago. Spurned an offer from Cleveland and another from his hometown Virginia Cavaliers in order to attend Ole Miss. Named the top player in the state as a high school senior. Like most heralded freshman, Wahl began his journey in the bullpen before moving to the rotation as a sophomore. Won seven games and established himself as the Rebels' most reliable ...