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It's Show Time! The Guardians begin their march to their first World Championship since 1948 in Oakland. (Might as well be a glass half full guy while I still can.)
Since there is no data yet for this season I copied and pasted a preview from CBSSports.com:
The A's figure to again be one of the worst teams in baseball in 2024. Minimal effort was made to improve the roster during the offseason and the farm system, even after all the recent trades, is short on impact talent. What is likely to be the franchise's final season in Oakland will be a forgettable one. Let's preview the upcoming A's season on the field.
Win total projection, odds:
2023 record: 50-112 (last place in AL West)
2024 SportsLine win total over/under: 57.5
World Series odds (via SportsLine): +50000
Projected lineup:
1B Ryan Noda, LHB
2B Zack Gelof, RHB
DH Brent Rooker, RHB
RF Seth Brown, LHB
C Shea Langeliers, RHB
LF JJ Bleday, LHB
3B Abraham Toro, SHB
CF Esteury Ruiz, RHB
SS Nick Allen, HBB
Gelof slashed .267/.337/.504 with 14 home runs in 69 games after being called up in July, and he is the closest thing the A's have to a building block on offense. Langeliers, Noda, and Ruiz have a chance to carve out long-term roles, though they would not be everyday players on many other teams around the league. Familiar names like Aledmys Díaz and Miguel Andujar will be on the bench. Perhaps erstwhile top prospect Tyler Soderstrom as well. He had a rough MLB debut last season but is likely to serve as the backup catcher while also seeing time in the outfield and at DH.
Projected rotation:
LHP JP Sears
RHP Paul Blackburn
RHP Ross Stripling
LHP Alex Wood
RHP Joe Boyle
The A's do have some interesting talent on the mound. Medina, who is out of options and would have to pass through waivers to go back to Triple-A, flashed promise at times last year, but he's now out with a knee injury. The hard-throwing Boyle was excellent in three starts late last season and will slot into the Opening Day rotation now. Stripling and Wood were brought in to eat innings. The A's will pay the two veterans a combined $17.75 million this season, which is nearly one-third of the team's payroll. Both figure to be prime pieces of trade bait at the deadline along with Blackburn.
Projected bullpen:
High leverage: RHP Lucas Erceg, RHP Trevor Gott, RHP Dany Jiménez
Middle: LHP Scott Alexander, RHP Mason Miller, LHP Sean Newcomb
Long: LHP Kyle Muller, RHP Mitch Spence
As things stand, the A's don't have a clearly defined bullpen heirarchy. Erceg saw regular high leverage work last season, Gott is a veteran with some late-inning experience, and Jiménez has been mentioned as a possible closer candidate this spring. Miller, the club's most talented pitcher, is going to spend the season in the bullpen after missing time with an elbow injury last year. Figure he'll work his way into high leverage situations before long. Ken Waldichuk, who spent time in the bullpen in 2023, is recovering from an elbow injury. He'll factor into the pitching staff in some capacity once healthy.
Can Miller stay healthy and break out?
Few pitchers in the game have as much arm talent as Miller, a 25-year-old from Gardner-Webb who struck out 38 batters in 33 1/3 innings last season. He also missed four months with an elbow sprain, meaning his ulnar collateral ligament was compromised (that's the Tommy John surgery ligament), so the A's understandably handled him very carefully. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Miller the No. 49 prospect in the game last month, and it's not hard to see why.
"The biggest goal for us is to get Mason Miller out of this camp healthy," Kotsay told MLB.com last month. "That's our focus. We'll prepare him as a reliever. He's a guy that can throw two or three innings. But I think we'll probably see him in two-inning stints at most towards the end (of spring training)."
Miller will spend the year in the bullpen and that might be his long-term home given the injury concerns. Clearly though, he has the ability to be a difference-maker, even as a short reliever. The A's are so devoid of talent right now that developing an impact reliever would qualify as a major organizational success. For now, Miller's relief outings are one of the few reasons to tune into Athletics games in 2024. He's one of the few players on the roster with a chance to be a foundational piece.
What other young players are coming?
Gelof arrived last July and became the team's best player immediately. He led the team in WAR despite playing only 69 games, and he projects to be their best player (by a lot) in 2024. Sears came over from the New York Yankees in the Frankie Montas trade and had a solid 2023 season, one in which he made 32 starts and threw 172 1/3 innings. Miller's in the bullpen, Boyle should make plenty of starts, and Soderstrom will get a chance to earn more playing time. There is some young talent here.
Who's next? Shortstop Darell Hernaiz, who was part of the Cole Irvin trade with the Baltimore Orioles, reached Triple-A last season and is on the 40-man roster, putting him position to challenge Allen for playing time. Outfielder Lazaro Armenteros swings and misses a lot -- A LOT -- though he began to tap into his power at Double-A last year, and could arrive later this year. Lefty Joey Estes was part of the Matt Olson trade. He made two starts in September and could get a longer look in 2024.
Despite all their trades -- Montas, Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Murphy, etc. -- the A's have the 25th ranked farm system according to Baseball America. They've done a poor job building a talent base during the tear down. Their best young players are already in the big leagues (Gelof, Miller, etc.) and that's good, that's where you want your best young players. The system doesn't have a whole lot more to offer though, with Hernaiz the best bet to contribute this summer. It will be a long road back to respectability.
PROSECUTOR comment on Game 1:
Shane Bieber goes against left-handed veteran Alex Wood, who pitched for the Giants last year. Wood, 33, is in his 11th season, pitching for five teams in the National League before signing with Oakland to “eat innings” as the preview said. Wood has started 202 games with a career record of 76-65 and an ERA of 3.74. The last two years his ERA’s were 5.10 and 4.33.
Wood pitched four innings of relief against the Guardians in a piggyback game last year, allowing 3 hits, no runs, and getting 10 of his 12 outs on ground balls. He threw 41 strikes in 59 pitches so he’s clearly a pitch-to-contact lefty who induces tons of ground balls. His ground ball percentage last year was 45%. For his career he has pitched 14.2 innings against the Guardians with no runs allowed. This is the kind of soft-tossing lefty who usually gives the Guardians fits.
Also starting for Oakland this series are, in order:
Ross Stripling, RHP, age 34, 0-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 11 starts last year
JP Sears, LHP, age 28, 5-14, 4.54 ERA in 32 starts last year
Paul Blackburn, RHP, age 30, 4-7, 4.43 ERA in 20 starts last year
Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, and Carlos Carrasco will follow Bieber in that order.
Since there is no data yet for this season I copied and pasted a preview from CBSSports.com:
The A's figure to again be one of the worst teams in baseball in 2024. Minimal effort was made to improve the roster during the offseason and the farm system, even after all the recent trades, is short on impact talent. What is likely to be the franchise's final season in Oakland will be a forgettable one. Let's preview the upcoming A's season on the field.
Win total projection, odds:
2023 record: 50-112 (last place in AL West)
2024 SportsLine win total over/under: 57.5
World Series odds (via SportsLine): +50000
Projected lineup:
1B Ryan Noda, LHB
2B Zack Gelof, RHB
DH Brent Rooker, RHB
RF Seth Brown, LHB
C Shea Langeliers, RHB
LF JJ Bleday, LHB
3B Abraham Toro, SHB
CF Esteury Ruiz, RHB
SS Nick Allen, HBB
Gelof slashed .267/.337/.504 with 14 home runs in 69 games after being called up in July, and he is the closest thing the A's have to a building block on offense. Langeliers, Noda, and Ruiz have a chance to carve out long-term roles, though they would not be everyday players on many other teams around the league. Familiar names like Aledmys Díaz and Miguel Andujar will be on the bench. Perhaps erstwhile top prospect Tyler Soderstrom as well. He had a rough MLB debut last season but is likely to serve as the backup catcher while also seeing time in the outfield and at DH.
Projected rotation:
LHP JP Sears
RHP Paul Blackburn
RHP Ross Stripling
LHP Alex Wood
RHP Joe Boyle
The A's do have some interesting talent on the mound. Medina, who is out of options and would have to pass through waivers to go back to Triple-A, flashed promise at times last year, but he's now out with a knee injury. The hard-throwing Boyle was excellent in three starts late last season and will slot into the Opening Day rotation now. Stripling and Wood were brought in to eat innings. The A's will pay the two veterans a combined $17.75 million this season, which is nearly one-third of the team's payroll. Both figure to be prime pieces of trade bait at the deadline along with Blackburn.
Projected bullpen:
High leverage: RHP Lucas Erceg, RHP Trevor Gott, RHP Dany Jiménez
Middle: LHP Scott Alexander, RHP Mason Miller, LHP Sean Newcomb
Long: LHP Kyle Muller, RHP Mitch Spence
As things stand, the A's don't have a clearly defined bullpen heirarchy. Erceg saw regular high leverage work last season, Gott is a veteran with some late-inning experience, and Jiménez has been mentioned as a possible closer candidate this spring. Miller, the club's most talented pitcher, is going to spend the season in the bullpen after missing time with an elbow injury last year. Figure he'll work his way into high leverage situations before long. Ken Waldichuk, who spent time in the bullpen in 2023, is recovering from an elbow injury. He'll factor into the pitching staff in some capacity once healthy.
Can Miller stay healthy and break out?
Few pitchers in the game have as much arm talent as Miller, a 25-year-old from Gardner-Webb who struck out 38 batters in 33 1/3 innings last season. He also missed four months with an elbow sprain, meaning his ulnar collateral ligament was compromised (that's the Tommy John surgery ligament), so the A's understandably handled him very carefully. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Miller the No. 49 prospect in the game last month, and it's not hard to see why.
"The biggest goal for us is to get Mason Miller out of this camp healthy," Kotsay told MLB.com last month. "That's our focus. We'll prepare him as a reliever. He's a guy that can throw two or three innings. But I think we'll probably see him in two-inning stints at most towards the end (of spring training)."
Miller will spend the year in the bullpen and that might be his long-term home given the injury concerns. Clearly though, he has the ability to be a difference-maker, even as a short reliever. The A's are so devoid of talent right now that developing an impact reliever would qualify as a major organizational success. For now, Miller's relief outings are one of the few reasons to tune into Athletics games in 2024. He's one of the few players on the roster with a chance to be a foundational piece.
What other young players are coming?
Gelof arrived last July and became the team's best player immediately. He led the team in WAR despite playing only 69 games, and he projects to be their best player (by a lot) in 2024. Sears came over from the New York Yankees in the Frankie Montas trade and had a solid 2023 season, one in which he made 32 starts and threw 172 1/3 innings. Miller's in the bullpen, Boyle should make plenty of starts, and Soderstrom will get a chance to earn more playing time. There is some young talent here.
Who's next? Shortstop Darell Hernaiz, who was part of the Cole Irvin trade with the Baltimore Orioles, reached Triple-A last season and is on the 40-man roster, putting him position to challenge Allen for playing time. Outfielder Lazaro Armenteros swings and misses a lot -- A LOT -- though he began to tap into his power at Double-A last year, and could arrive later this year. Lefty Joey Estes was part of the Matt Olson trade. He made two starts in September and could get a longer look in 2024.
Despite all their trades -- Montas, Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Murphy, etc. -- the A's have the 25th ranked farm system according to Baseball America. They've done a poor job building a talent base during the tear down. Their best young players are already in the big leagues (Gelof, Miller, etc.) and that's good, that's where you want your best young players. The system doesn't have a whole lot more to offer though, with Hernaiz the best bet to contribute this summer. It will be a long road back to respectability.
PROSECUTOR comment on Game 1:
Shane Bieber goes against left-handed veteran Alex Wood, who pitched for the Giants last year. Wood, 33, is in his 11th season, pitching for five teams in the National League before signing with Oakland to “eat innings” as the preview said. Wood has started 202 games with a career record of 76-65 and an ERA of 3.74. The last two years his ERA’s were 5.10 and 4.33.
Wood pitched four innings of relief against the Guardians in a piggyback game last year, allowing 3 hits, no runs, and getting 10 of his 12 outs on ground balls. He threw 41 strikes in 59 pitches so he’s clearly a pitch-to-contact lefty who induces tons of ground balls. His ground ball percentage last year was 45%. For his career he has pitched 14.2 innings against the Guardians with no runs allowed. This is the kind of soft-tossing lefty who usually gives the Guardians fits.
Also starting for Oakland this series are, in order:
Ross Stripling, RHP, age 34, 0-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 11 starts last year
JP Sears, LHP, age 28, 5-14, 4.54 ERA in 32 starts last year
Paul Blackburn, RHP, age 30, 4-7, 4.43 ERA in 20 starts last year
Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, and Carlos Carrasco will follow Bieber in that order.
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