There’s been a lot of chatter about how the Oakland Athletics may have the most positional depth of any other team in the American League. With the recent acquisitions of Jed Lowrie, Chris Young, John Jaso, and Hiroyuki Nakajima I tend to agree with that assessment. With so many players vying for a select few positions there are numerous lineups Bob Melvin could have on opening day. Below is my projected lineup based on everything I’ve read about the A’s so far.
MLBDepthCharts.com has Jed Lowrie batting in second, who’s the second best candidate for the job. Last year proved Melvin is one of the smartest tacticians and in-game managers in the league. I have to believe he can’t have Jaso’s career OBP of .359 at the bottom of the lineup.
Below is their projected lineup on the last day of the year:
Contrary to what the A’s are saying, Lowrie should be the starting shortstop, which would leave the newly acquired Hiroyuki Nakajima, whose arm is more suited for second base, as either the starting second baseman or the utility infielder.
The three best defenders in the outfield are Reddick, Cespedes, and Young which is why I have them in the starting lineup. This isn’t a knock on Crisp, but his range has decreased and his arm has always been well below average.
This is the year Grant Green makes it big leagues and becomes a contributor. His only above average tool is his hit tool. I’ve seen a few times in Triple-A Sacramento; he has a quick smooth swing that consistent finds the barrel of the bat. If he was given a full time job he could hit .300 with 10-12 home runs. Defensively, he doesn’t have a home in that he doesn’t excel at any one position. He was originally drafted as shortstop, but the A’s moved him to center field in the middle of 2011. In 2012 he played everywhere in the infield (except first base) and the outfield.
I’m not a fan of Weeks’ because I don’t like players whose primary tool is speed. One word to summarize his 2012 season is regressed. He began the 2012 season by struggling offensively, which bled over to his defense. In terms of his approach it was as if he tried to hit more power rather than making contact and legging out hits. I have Weeks and Green in the starting lineups at the end of the year because they’re the future for the A’s infield. Among all the infielders who could conceivably be big league ready at the start of 2014, Green and Weeks have the highest ceiling of any player. Jed Lowrie is a free agent at the end of the year and Josh Donaldson is a fringe major leaguer. Scott Sizemore is the big wild card because like Green, his only plus tool is the hit tool. If he can hit as well as he did in his brief stint with the A’s in 2011 he could the long term solution at second base.
What’s most intriguing is if the team somehow falters they have a lot of assets that can be traded at the trade deadline: Grant Balfour, Coco Crisp, Seth Smith, Chris Young, and Jed Lowrie. What all these players have in common is this the last year of their contracts, which makes them more attractive commodities for another teams. In the offseason they turned down a trade of Brett Anderson for Wil Myers, which shocked me because it seems like a no brainer to me, but that shows me they believe they have a real chance of winning the AL West again.
