The Future of Oakland (2024 A's)

[rhaums]

A notoriously cheap owner, a disengaged fanbase, a barren MiLB system and one of the worst rosters in the MLB. It was no wonder that the Athletics struggled to attract a big name GM to the Coliseum. However, Tess Stanford, a little known name from the Braves front office, was finally announced to be filling this role.

Stanford conceded that the next couple of years may have their struggles for A's fans, but hopes that as her plan plays out, A's fans will be reinvigorated with excitement for the team. She also expressed a desire to see the team stay in Oakland, and has said she'll do her best to ensure this happens.

Season Preview 2024:
The roster Stanford is inheriting has little to be excited about. After struggling last year, the hitting core will likely center around Zack Gelof (2.3 WAR from 69 games in 2023) and Brent Rooker (2.1 WAR from 137 games in 2023). While the lineup has a number of strong defenders, Stanford will need to put in hard work to rebuild this hitting lineup.

On the mound, the A's don't look quite as bad, but are very forgettable. New acquisition Alex Wood has been hovering around replacement level for a few years now, while Ross Stripling and Paul Blackburn both had mid 4 eras in 2023. Mason Miller showed promise in his MLB cameo last year (with 10.3 K/9) and fans will be hoping this transfers to a full season. There are also a number of other mediocre pitchers on the IL, that will likely make their way onto the roster this season.

Wins Over/Under: 57.5

Top Prospects:

Luis Morales (21, SP, R - #86 OSA Ranked)
A pitcher with plus stuff, movement and control, Morales projects to be a very solid mid-rotation starter. He throws mid 90s, and pitches with a Fastball, Slider, Curveball and Changeups, all with excellent ceilings. His defense is nothing to write home about, but isn't a liability. However, starting in Rookieball at 21, he'll have to impress quickly to get himself a spot in the higher minor leagues.



Jacob Wilson (21, SS, A+)
A 2023 draft pick from the A's, Wilson projects to be a decent defensive middle infielder and solid contact hitter. He already has fantastic ability to avoid striking out, and that combined with a good ability to find the gap and above average speed could be a decent rally starter in the MLB. Wilson is also one of the main hitting prospects for the A's so they'll be desperately hoping things turn out strong for him.

Darell Hernaiez (22, 2B, AAA)
Another middle infielder, Hernaiez may be getting MLB at bats as soon as this season. While he had a 96 wRC+ in AAA for the 2023 season, his strong contact skills could help him find a place in a MLB lineup that is lacking in the hitting department. There are definitely much better second basemen defensively in baseball, but he should still be serviceable.


There's a lot of work to be done to get this team to October, but with Opening Day looming, there's only so much to be done for now.


Other Information:
I wasn't happy with how the JPBO modifers were set, and so just decided to do a MLB only save. Only change to default settings is both injury settings to high (i think it's more realistic and enjoy the decisions it forces)

[rhaums]

2024 Rotation:
JP Sears
Alex Wood
Mitch Spence
Paul Blackburn
Ross Stripling

Bullpen:
Mason Miller
TJ Mc Farland
Michael Kelly
Kyle Muller
Osvaldo Bido
Joe Boyle
Adrian Martinez
Austin Adams

Lineup:
1. Esteury Ruiz (R | CF)
2. J.D. Davis (R | RF)
3. Ryan Noda (L | DH)
4. JJ Bleday (L | LF)
5. Brent Rooker (R | 1B)
6. Tyler Nevin (R | 3B)
7. Zack Gelof (R | 2B)
8. Shea Langeliers (R | C)
9. Nick Allen (R | SS)

Bench:
Seth Brown (L | OF)
Abraham Toro (S | 3B)
Drew Lugbauer (L | C)
Stephen Piscotty (R | RF)


Weekly Round Up (28-31 March)


March 28: CLE 2 @ OAK 1
Coming into the bottom of the 9th down 2-0, Oakland has a chance after a Zack Gelof triple and Nick Allen RBI. Esteury Ruiz continues the rally, but Noda, Rooker and Brown all make outs to end the inning with the tieing run at third. Wood provides a fine but not great outing as the first starter, going 5 innings for 2 runs. Beiber was the headline of the game though, going 8 scoreless innings.
W: S. Beiber (1-0)
L: A. Wood (0-1)
SV: E. Clase (1)
Record: 0-1

March 29: CLE 3 @ OAK 4
Another game with late innings drama for Oakland. Bottom of the 9th, trailing by 1, Langeliers leads the inning off with a single. A Gelof double and Allen single are this time enough to walk the game off to take the first win of 2024. JP Sears was good, going 7.1 innings with 2 ER.
W: M. Miller (1-0)
L: E. Clase (0-1)
Record: 1-1

March 30: CLE 5 @ OAK 2
The Guardians are too good for Oakland. Esteury Ruiz gets the first longball of the season, but that was not enough as the bullpen allowed 5 hits, and 2 ER in their 4 innings of work. Oakland made 3 errors, that were also responsible for 2 of the Guardians runs. For a team that should be better defensively than the other skills, they really n eed to clean up their act.
W: T. McKenzie (1-0)
L: P. Blackburn (0-1)
SV: S. Barlow (1)
Record: 1-2

March 31: CLE 3 @ OAK 2 (10)
A strong start from Ross Stripling (6IP, 1H, 0 ER) is not enough for the A's as a 10th inning has to be used to separate the teams in the final game of the series. After a couple of hits, the Guardians drive CJ Cron home to take the lead in the 10th. In the home half, Zack Gelof singles, and Ruiz is held at third. However, a groundball to the third baseman from JD Davis leads to Ruiz being thrown out at the plate during the next AB. Gelof reaches third later but it's too little, too late and Cleveland win the opening series.
W: E. Clase (1-1)
L: M. Miller (1-1)
SV: C. Smith (1)
Record:1-3

Oakland starts the weekly power rankings at 27th.

Other League News:
Houston signs 1B Brandon Belt to a 1 year, $15 million deal
Joey Votto announces that the 2024 season will be his last
LA and Baltimore top the week 1 power rankings

[Scottiedog43]

Good luck my friend
I can feel for you…I like to do expansion teams myself.
But, I’d imagine overall talent level is about the same.

[rhaums]

1st Apr - BOS 3 @ OAK 7
The offense is rolling for this one. Ruiz and Rooker hit their 3rd and 2nd HR of the season respectively, and Ruiz also gets an RBI double and is named Player of the Game. Mitch Spence goes 6.2 innings with 0 earned runs, with errors accouting for all three of Boston's runs.
W: M. Spence (1-0)
L: K. Crawford (0-1)
SB: K. Muller (1)
Record: 2-3

2nd Apr - BOS 6 @ OAK 0
Oakland's pitching leaks runs all game, with all three pitchers used conceding earned runs. Langeliers and Nick Allen were the only two A's with hits this evening.
W: N. Pivetta (1-1)
L: A. Wood (0-2)
Record: 2-4


3rd Apr - BOS 1 @ OAK 6
Ruiz has a two hit night and the A's come up clutch, with multiple 2-out RBI shots against the Red Sox. The bullpen had another clean night, and JP Sears gave 5 innings of 1 run ball, for a strong team effort to win their first series of 2024.
W: J. Sears (1-0)
L: B. Bello (0-2)
Record: 3-4

NEWS:
Tragedy strikes for the Atlanta Braves, as they will be expecting to miss around 6 weeks of Ronald Acuna Jr, after fracturing his finger against Chicago earlier today. The Phillies also have injury issues, as Zach Wheeler will have to miss 3 months due to a rotator cuff inflammation.

5th Apr - OAK 2 @ DET 3
Seth Brown goes deep after starting 2024 in a slump and another decent start from Paul Blackburn is not enough to save the hitting woes of the Athletics. Oakland are unable to score off the Detroit bullpen and the Tigers coast to an easy victory.
W: R. Olson (1-0)
L: P. Blackburn (0-2)
SV: A. Lange (2)
Record: 3-5

6th Apr - OAK 3 @ DET 0
A lights out performance for Stripling sees him go 6.1 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts and only 1 hit. From here, a two RBI single for Nick Allen got Oakland the lead, and the bullpen held out, to give them another win on the season.
W: R. Stripling (1-0)
L: B. Brieske (0-1)
SV: M. Miller (1)
Record: 4-5

7th Apr - OAK 7 @ DET 5
Coming into the top of the 8th, Oakland found themselves down 5-3 to Detroit. Andrew Chafin had trouble finding his spots, and walked the first two batters of the inning, before a flyout and wild pitch get the A's on the board this frame. From here, a Langliers home run, and fielders choice get the A's the last few runs, before Mason Miller shuts the door in the bottom of the frame.
W: J. Boyle (1-0)
L: A. Lange (0-1)
SV: M. Miller (2)
Record: 5-5

Oakland move up to 17th in the power rankings.

Other news:
Braves sign AJ Minter to a 3 year, 25 mil extension

[rhaums]

9th Apr 2024 - OAK 4 @ TEX 5
Eovaldi and the Texas pitching was too good for the Athletics. Despite threatening to pull ahead in the 7th inning, Texas managed to work around two runners in scoring position. From here, five straight hits (including three straight home runs) was enough to make sure that the Rangers opened this series with a win.
W: B. Taylor (1-0)
L: K. Muller (0-1)
SV: D. Robertson (3)
Record: 5-6

10th Apr 2024 - OAK 2 @ TEX 4
Tyler Nevin goes deep, things continue to go bad for Oakland after a fourth inning rally from Texas puts them ahead for the rest of the game after Oakland struggle to get hits against the Rangers bullpen.
W: J. Gray (1-1)
L: M. Spence (1-1)
SV: D. Robertson (4)
Record: 5-7

11th Apr 2024 - OAK 12 @ TEX 10 (10)
A two home run night for JD Davis (including a 3 run shot in extra innings) means the Athletics avoid the sweep in Texas. Paul Blackburn doesn't make it out of the 2nd inning, but with plenty of fireworks for the lineup, they work around the bullpen issues.
W: M. Miller (2-1)
L: B. Burke (1-1)
Record: 6-7

12th Apr 2024 - WAS 5 @ OAK 8
Oakland gets their first taste of interleague action, and gets themselves another win. Brent Rooker goes 3-5 with 2 RBI. Ross Stripling lasts 6 innings, and Oakland continues to outperform expectations for 2024 (though many are expecting them to return to a slump).
W: R. Stripling (2-0)
L: T. Williams (0-2)
SV: M. Miller (3)
Record: 7-7

Transaction:
Oakland trades minor league players Danis Correa and Carlos Amaya to Detroit for Andy Ibanez. Abraham Toro has been optioned to Triple A Las Vegas to make room on the roster.

13th Apr 2024 - WAS 9 @ OAK 5
Washington strike back after the first game of the series, as Lane Thomas hits a home run in the first, and the Nationals continue to lead from there. Langliers and Noda hit homers too, but are unable to get Oakland back into the game.
W: M. Gore (2-2)
L: A. Wood (0-3)
Record: 7-8

14th Apr 2024 - WAS 3 @ OAK 1
A three hit night for Nick Allen wasn't enough for Oakland, as the rest of the lineup struggled at the plate. Sears put out a decent start, but that comes to nothing without any run support. A Jesse Winker pinch hit home run was the blow for Washington
W: J. LaSorsa (2-0)
L: J. Sears (1-1)
SV: H. Harvey)
Record: 7-9

Transaction:
Sean Newcomb assigned to Triple A Las Vegas for rehab pitching

The A's move down to 20th in the power rankings.

[rhaums]

Originally Posted by Scottiedog43

Good luck my friend
I can feel for you…I like to do expansion teams myself.
But, I’d imagine overall talent level is about the same.

Thanks! Hopefully this goes well!

[rhaums]

April 15: STL 8 @ OAK 4
St Louis finally get their offense clicking as they spend the evening challenging the Oakland defense. Between pitcher struggles and a defensive error, Oakland look lost all game, with their runs coming too late into the game to matter.
W: K. Gibson (1-3)
L: M. Spence (1-2)
SV: R. Helsley (1)
Record: 7-10

April 16: STL 2 @ OAK 3
Paul Blackburn finally turns in a good start, lasting 7 innings with 1 ER. Ibanez hits his first home run in an Oakland jersey and Mason Miller shuts down a 9th inning rally to even up the series.
W: P. Blackburn (1-2)
L: L. Lynn (0-3)
SV: M. Miller (4)
Record: 8-10

April 17: STL 4 @ OAK 8
The A's start strong, with Noda and Ibanez both hitting first inning home runs. Ibanez extended the lead with a 5th inning home run (his 3rd longball in 2 games). Stripling continues to be the pick of the starter, with his 3rd win of the season, and a 2.59 ERA.
W: R. Stripling (3-0)
L: M. Mikolas (0-3)
SV: M. Miller (5)
Record: 9-10

TRANSACTION:
Scott Alexander to Triple A Las Vegas for rehab

April 19: OAK 2 @ CLE 7
Andres Gimenez hits for 7 bases for Cleveland, as they coast to an early lead against the Athletics. Alex Wood struggles in the duel against Shane Bieber who is too good against the Oakland lineup for the second time this year.
W: S. Bieber (2-1)
L: A. Wood (0-4)
Record: 9-11

April 20: OAK 0 @ CLE 4
The A's continue to display the problems with their lineup, as Noda and Langeliers are the only A's batters with a hit (with no extra base hits). Tanner Bibee from the Guardians gets through 7 shutout innings the Athletics in a very impressive outing.
W: T. Bibee (2-1)
L: J. Sears (1-2)
SV: E. Clase (3)
Record: 9-12

April 21: OAK 5 @ CLE 9
Oakland gets swept for the first time in 2024. The A's had a strong start witg a second inning go-ahead homer from Ibanez off Logan Allen, followed by one in the fourth from Langeliers. However, this did not last. Steven Kwan's two RBI triple in the 4th and a Florial grand slam in the 5th meant the A's had to accept another loss on the season.
W: L. Allen (1-1)
L: M. Spence (1-3)
Record: 9-13

Oakland sits at 26 in the power rankings.

Other News
James Outman hits 3 hr in a game vs the Mets
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