Here's Why The Athletics Will Make The Playoffs
Edition #223
This begins a 3-part series talking about 3 teams and a storyline—the Athletics, the Red Sox + Dodgers, and the 2nd part to the MLB Has A Problem post. This series will preview the season as a whole, centering the focus on these 3 teams.
First off, as always, our monthly tradition. We usually do this on the 1st of each month, but I couldn’t get this post out yesterday, so we’re doing it today.
10 days until the start of NFL Free Agency
16 days until the first MLB game
25 days until Opening Day
44 days until the play-in tournament
46 days until the end of the NHL Regular Season
48 days until the NBA Playoffs
TBD, but 48 days until the NHL Playoffs
53 days until the NFL Draft
101 days until the World Test Championship
186 days until the start of the NFL Season
This is an extremely unpopular opinion, but here are my thoughts.
The Athletics making the playoffs is a very stern thing to say in today’s game. After all, the last time they made the playoffs was in 2020, 5 years ago, and they have been in rebuilding mode ever since.
Or should I say, it has been money-making mode ever since.
You all know how much I scrutinize Fisher in this newsletter. With the way I write about him, you would think I’m an A’s fan. What he did in Oakland isn’t right.
But Fisher wasn’t all that bad until the year he decided he wanted to pursue money. When he became the owner of the A’s in 2005, people were excited. He promised championships and a new ballpark right in Oakland.
I believe that one of those promises is going to be made true incredibly soon.
To me, the As have some good core players. Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Mason Miller, Zach Gelof, and Shea Langliers. One thing you do need to notice out of all these players is the fact that there is not a single starting pitcher. That’s where the A’s weakness comes in, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.
Those are 5 important players who were on the team last season. They didn’t get any of those guys in a trade.
Let’s not forget about JJ Bleday, who was huge for them in the second half of the season, and Jacob Wilson, an absolute stud for the Athletics. I had the pleasure of meeting Jacob Wilson, but more than that, I was lucky enough to see all these players I’ve listed at least three or four times.
So, Rooker, Butler, Miller, Gelof, Langliers, Bleday, and Wilson. Honestly, this core should be ranked in the top 15.
So, what’s stopping this A’s team from being the best in the world? I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Pitching. At least, that’s what stopped them from making the playoffs last year.
This year, the A’s went out with a mentality to spend money, and while they didn’t spend it all on Juan Soto, the addition of Luis Severino, Gio Urshela, and Jeffery Springs certainly helps their pitching. I do feel like with just a few trades at the trade deadline, this team really can make the playoffs.
Many analysts are putting the A’s as a surprise team. I say that this is a guaranteed playoff team. Now, yes, the As haven’t made the playoffs in a while and have generated a lot of buzz for being a very cheap team, but with the talent on their roster, this should’ve been a playoff team last year!
Stats. Stats. Stats. Let’s look at stats, shall we?
Firstly, in the meaningless Spring Training games, the As have 5 wins and 2 losses. They will face the Los Angeles Dodgers today at 3:05 p.m. EST. But let’s look at the 2024 Regular Season.
Slugging? Top-notch. Rooker finished with 39 home runs, Langliers finished with 29, and Butler finished with 22. Reminder. Rooker played 145 and was in the HR race for a bit. Langliers only played 137. Butler only played 125.
Knocking other people in? It could be better. Rooker finished with 112. Langliers with 80. Bleday with 60. Same with walks and strikeouts, because boy a lot of those could’ve been avoided last season.
As a team, the As ranked 8th in home runs, 26th in RBIs, 11th in walks (good thing), and 5th in strikeouts (bad thing). They were 18th in stolen bases and 25th in batting average, but ranked 12th in double plays (good thing)! With these numbers, some new additions, and a minor league ballpark, who’s to say the A’s won’t make the playoffs? Now, yes, they certainly weren’t the best numbers, but if you take in other factors, it’s hard not to see the A’s doing that bad.
Like I said before, if the As want to win, they need to pitch well. They ranked very low in strikeouts last season but only gave up 169 home runs, putting them in 8th. They did give up the 6th most runs in the league, same with the hits, plus they ranked 5th in WHIP. They also ranked 3rd to last in strikeouts.
Pitching needs to improve.
Luckily, Severino is here to save them, and with some quality starts from all these starters, they should be good to go.
Listen, if the As really want to make the playoffs this year, they have a good chance. If they can show up every game and play their hearts out with the team they have in the division they are in, there’s a huge chance that they win the division, even if they don’t go so far. I still believe that the A’s are going to win the division.
The Oakland Coliseum: Left field 330 feet (101 m), left center 388 feet (118 m), Center field 400 feet (122 m), Right center 388 feet (118 m), Right field 330 feet (101 m), Backstop 60 feet (18 m).
Sutter Health Park in Sacramento: Left field: 330 feet. Center field: 403 feet. Right field: 325 feet. Backstop: 58 feet.
One final note on the way out: In 2024, 6 As ranked in the top 150 for Brls/PA%, 3 in the top 50, and Brent Rooker in the in the top 10.
If you’re looking for a team to jump the bandwagon on this year, choose the Oakland Athletics. Or, should I say, the Sacramento Athletics.
That NBA GMs post is coming. I promise. A post on the combine will be coming soon as well!
Surprisingly, I could see this. As you know by now, I'm high on the Rangers, I mean come on, they won the World Series two seasons ago and could very easily get back there if they can stay healthy, especially with Wyatt Langford and a healthy Jacob DeGrom this season. I could see the A's sneaking in with the Wild Card spot behind the Rangers, who I believe will be division champs. Even though they could make the playoffs, I do expect them to be a first round exit. This is a great young core but not enough experience to really do anything in the postseason in my opinion.
The division is also a lot weaker. Mariners look bad, Angels are the Angels, Rangers could be a decent threat but I'm not high on them, and the Astros are worse than they were the last couple of years.