The A's went for it last season, but collapsed down the stretch and lost the AL wildcard game to the Royals. Their reaction was to do a whole bunch of things that kinda sorta maybe made them better or possibly worse. Frankly, it was difficult to keep up with everything.
(Note: When a player's fantasy draft status is mentioned - e.g., "he's an SP4" - the number is based on 12-team mixed leagues.)
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Key additions: C Josh Phegley, 1B Ike Davis, 1B Mark Canha, IF Ben Zobrist, IF Marcus Semien, SS Franklin Barreto, 3B Brett Lawrie, DH Billy Butler, SP Jesse Hahn, SP Sean Nolin, RP Tyler Clippard
Key losses: C John Jaso, C Derek Norris, 2B Alberto Callaspo, SS Jed Lowrie, DH Adam Dunn, SP Jon Lester, SP Jeff Samardzija, SP Jason Hammel, RP Luke Gregerson
Projected Lineup
Crisp seems likely to bat .260 with 10 homers and 20 steals, even if he misses his usual month due to injury. You could do worse for your OF5 ... Zobrist is a better real player than fantasy player. His 2B/SS/OF eligibility is a nice perk in daily lineup leagues, but he's outside the top 10 at both middle infield slots ... Reddick's 2012 sure looks out of place with the rest of his career stats, huh? Maybe he'll bat .250 with 15-20 homers, and that's not worth your time in standard leagues ... Let's say Butler rebounds to .280 with 15 home runs. As a DH-only, is he worth it? Maybe, but only if your DH spot happens to be open at the end of your draft ... Davis cut down on his Ks last season, but a decline in HR power (11 in 360 AB). The guy is 28 years old, so let's hope you're not still waiting for him to come around ... Canha hit 20 homers at Triple A last season, AL-only owners. Keep him in mind, even if he appears to be on the short end of a platoon ... Remember this time three years ago, when Lawrie was going to be the second coming of David Wright? Lawrie has been an injury-plagued disappointment since, but that doesn't mean he's a bad player now. He has 2B/3B eligibility, and would make for an interesting backup MI/CR in the final five or six rounds of your draft ... Vogt is a decent hitter, but he doesn't bring enough power to the table to be useful in mixed formats ... Phegley's power - he has 38 HR in 168 Triple-A games over the last two seasons â makes him an interesting AL-only play, even in the short half of a platoon ... Semien has 2B/3B eligibility, and owns an interesting power/speed package. He's averaged 21 homers with 18 steals between the majors and minors over the last two seasons, and should be owned in all deep mixed leagues ... Fuld and Gentry are both good basestealers who can't hit.
Projected Rotation
CL: Sean Doolittle
Gray's early ADP is SP19. Last season, he ranked 24th in ERA, 30th in FIP, 33rd in WHIP, 41st in K rate and 60th in K/BB ratio. The ground balls are great, but you should let someone else have him ... Kazmir is outside the top 60 starters, and that's going to make him a good value ... Chavez had a strong first half in 2014, but was sent to the bullpen after the A's acquired Samardzija, Lester and Hammel. If he makes the rotation â only the first two are locks â he could be OK in deeper mixed leagues ... Pomeranz is getting some sleeper love after posting a 2.35 ERA for the A's last season, but he's probably not draftable in 12-team mixers ... Ditto for Hahn, who had a 3.07 ERA in 73 1/3 innings for the Padres last year.
Doolittle (shoulder) probably won't be ready for the start of the season, so Tyler Clippard appears set for some early saves.
Sleeper: Semien is flying below the radar, but as long as he gets the SS job â which seems likely â he could hit enough and run enough to be worth owning in any format. And after a couple of weeks, he'll have eligibility at 2B/3B/SS.
Top prospects
Franklin Barreto, SS - Barreto has good speed and appears likely to develop some power, but he turns 19 this month, so be patient.
Matt Olson, 1B - Olson hit 37 home runs, scored 111 runs, walked 117 times and struck out 137 times at High-A last season. Adam Dunn, anyone?
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