Athletics Preview

by user Bball3345

Projected Rotation: SP Barry Zito SP Rich Harden SP Esteban Loaiza SP Danny Haren SP Joe Blanton

Billy Beane is the man! He traded Hudson and Mulder away and still had one of the top rotations in baseball last year. There is very little difference in value from top to bottom of this rotation. If I had to pick a breakout candidate it would be Harden. He could win a Cy Young if he gets enough run support to reach an impressive enough win total, even though wins should not count as much as they do in the voters' minds. Blanton is the pitcher who I see regressing the most. He does not strikeout enough people and probably was not as good as his ERA last year. There is no way Huston Street does what he did last year again. But his ERA could raise a run and a half and Street would still be a valuable closer. Oakland has an extremely strong, deep bullpen with Calero, Duchscherer, and Witasick leading the way.

Projected Batting Order 2B Mark Ellis RF Milton Bradley SS Bobby Crosby 3B Eric Chavez DH Frank Thomas 1B Dan Johnson LF Nick Swisher CF Mark Kotsay C Jason Kendall

This team does not have any big standout players on offense or pitching but they also are without any major holes. They have a lot of flexibility with most of their players able to play multiple positions on the diamond. Which is a bonus because Frank Thomas cannot be expected to give any more than 300 ABs, albeit with tremendous power. Any additional PA's by Thomas are a bonus to the team. Milton Bradley was a strong addition to the top of the order with power and a decent OBP out of the #2 slot. I don't see his attitude being a problem. The only hole I can find in this lineup is with Kendall at the bottom who has a below average OBP and no power whatsoever. Defensively, he has never been anything special and his SBs are declining. As a whole, the defense of the A's is spectacular. With the exception of 1B Dan Johnson, C Jason Kendall, and LF Nick Swisher, everyone is above average defensively. Chavez and Ellis are gold glove caliber fielders.

PREDICTION: 95-67 1st in the AL West...They are the most balanced, deep team in the AL West and will have the best pitching/defense out there.

Date
Tue 03/07/06, 6:14 am EST