Let’s start with the conclusion first. I don’t know what to make of the Athletics these days. It’s a team in limbo, two years removed from Oakland, not really belonging to Sacramento, and hopefully on schedule for Las Vegas in two years. The Athletics play ina glorious hitter parkbut they’re struggling to score runs, or put up fantasy baseball value. The club has a starting rotation that even most fantasy managers couldn’t pick out of a lineup.
And yet the nomad Athletics are somehow in first place in the AL West. Okay, it’s a 15-13 record, a modest start, but it still ranks ahead of everyone else.
So let’s get out the audit tools and take the temperature of this oddball team.
I thought the Athletics would score this year, for simple reasons. The A’s were 12th in runs and eighth in OPS last year, and Sutter Health Park played as the best hitter park in the American League. This year, Sutter is actuallythe best scoring park in all of baseball, but the hometown offense hasn’t benefited. The Athletics currently rank 22nd in runs, 15th in OPS.
This club had six priority hitters for the spring draft season, including four inside the top 100. Most of them are not returning their ADP so far.
— First basemanNick Kurtzis probably the easiest “buy” from this group. He leads the majors in walks, and he’s homered three times in his last six games — he’s coming around. I’d be surprised if he didn’t bat for a plus average moving forward, with a slugging percentage over .500. He’s legit.
— OutfielderBrent Rooker(.507 OPS) at least has a reasonable excuse — an oblique injury cost him a couple of weeks. He returned to action Sunday, went 0-for-4 with a run. I would expect he’ll soon revert to the consistent slugger we saw in the three previous seasons, when he conked 99 homers and assembled a steady .268/.343/.509 slash. If someone in your league has soured on Rooker, you have my permission to take the case.
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— CatcherShea Langeliershas been the winner of the draft targets, hitting .304 with eight homers. He’s currently the C4 in banked 5x5 value. Langeliers still employs an aggressive approach at the plate — he’s below code in walk rate, chase rate and strikeout rate — but when he makes contact, all is forgiven. All of his hard-hit metricsare in plus territory, and his .304/.361/.563 slash is backed up by the expected stats. Enjoy the ride.
—Tyler Soderstromwas a part-time catcher not long ago, but that equipment has been shelved for good. The Athletics view Soderstrom as a full-time outfielder this year, and it’s going to take some time (he currently has a negative defensive grade). He’s off to a sluggish start (OPS drop of 128 points), though his walk and strikeout rates have both improved. He’s also managed to make 18 RBI from a .215 average and just three homers. He still feels like a reliable player to invest in for fantasy purposes.
— I suspected this would be a reveal season for outfielderLawrence Butler, who was a star in 2024 (131 OPS+) and a disappointment last year (91 OPS+). This year, it’s all fallen apart — a .186/.263/.279 start. His batting averagehas been comically unlucky(.253 expected BA, well above the .186 number) but that’s also tied to a paltry .354 expected slugging percentage. Butler is currently rostered in 55% of Yahoo leagues (he does have two homers and four steals), but perhaps that number is too optimistic.
— I was willing to buy stock on shortstopJacob Wilsonafter a solid rookie year (.311 average, 13 homers). What if he added a little more power? His springtime ADP of 164 felt like a floor price.
Alas, the pop remains on back order — he’s actually lost 61 slugging percentage points — and his average has also dropped to .278. Wilson rarely runs (six steals in two seasons) so he needs a juicy average to pay the fantasy freight. At least you can still enjoy the craftsman at work, as Wilson rarely strikes out andalmost never swings at a pitch outside the strike zone. I’ll trust the process here, and stick with the player.
— A couple of other Athletics hitters have entered our fantasy lives. The otherMax Muncyhas a .239 average and a couple of homers, covering three infield positions in Yahoo. OutfielderCarlos Corteshas torn it up for 61 at-bats — .377 average, four homers. His Savant pageis a sea of glorious red. The A’s have steered Cortes away from left-handed pitching, but so long as he’s crushing righties, we have to take notice.
Muncy is trading at 26% in Yahoo leagues, while Cortes has risen to 21% in recent days.
Turning attention to the pitchers
— Most winning teams are able to support a fantasy-viable closer, even if they have a hitter-favoring park. Unfortunately for the saves chase, the Athletics are spreading the handshakes around.Joel Kuhnelhas four saves so far (including one Sunday), whileJack PerkinsandMark Leiter Jr.have two each. Left-handerHogan Harrishas one random save, something we can probably overlook (he’s also walked 13 men in 16.1 innings, which is an instant disqualification).
Kuhnel has a 2.16 ERA and 1.080 WHIP,supported by the peripherals. Perkins checks in at 3.18/1.147, and he’s actually beena little unlucky. Leiter has been unlucky, too, but his FIP (4.59) isn’t that much better than his actual 6.94 ERA. If you’re hunting for saves here, lean Kuhnel (24%) and consider Perkins (4%); ignore the others.
— The rotation has been surprisingly respectable, with three starters carrying ERAs in the 3s. ButJeffrey Springs(3.79/1.009) is the only starter with a strikeout rate good enough to challenge the park long-term — and his strikeout rate is merely league average. Springs also has to make do with an ordinary fastball (91.3 mph) and a below-average ground-ball rate. Occam’s Razor suggests you might be best ignoring every starting pitcher here, even if the Athletics wind up contending all season.