A's fantasy preview: Sonny Gray must lead the way
As the 2017 fantasy baseball season approaches, we take a look at the biggest news and story lines from each club. We'll feature one team each weekday ... and we'll finish up on Feb. 15, the first day all teams will have their pitchers and catchers on the field for workouts.
2017 fantasy baseball team previews
Times have been lean for the Oakland A's over the past two seasons. They haven't had a star to build an offense around since trading 3B Josh Donaldson and the pitching staff has struggled to show any consistency. Still, team president Billy Beane continues to wheel and deal as he tries to find a winning combination of players to fit within his meager budget. This year's A's have a few promising youngsters, but not enough overall talent to generate much excitement.
2016 at a glance
Record: 69-93 (5th in AL West)
Hitting: 29th (4.03 R/G)
Pitching: 25th (4.51 ERA)
Arrivals
OF Rajai Davis
3B Trevor Plouffe
OF Matt Joyce
RP Santiago Casilla
Davis surprisingly got a full season's worth of playing time in Cleveland and ended up leading the American League with 43 stolen bases. He inherits the center field job in Oakland and will likely lead off, despite a .306 on-base percentage last season. Look for him to continue to run often once he does get on base.
Plouffe, 30, takes over at third base after injuries helped end his tenure in Minnesota. He won't be much of a fantasy factor, except in deep AL-only leagues, but his arrival does move Ryon Healy to a 1B/DH role.
In part-time duty (primarily vs. right-handed pitchers), Joyce put up an outstanding .402 on-base percentage. For fantasy purposes, use him in daily formats only when you know he's going to be in the lineup.
Casilla, 36, faltered down the stretch as the Giants' closer, but could still be part of the ninth-inning mix on the other side of the Bay.
Players to watch
SP Sonny Gray
OF Khris Davis
After winning 14 games with a 2.73 ERA in 2015, Gray looked like the perfect trade candidate. But the A's never got an offer to their liking and he suffered through an injury-plagued season in which he threw just 117 innings and posted a 5.69 ERA. He doesn't get a ton of swings and misses (7.2 K.9), but instead looks to get hitters to pound the ball into the ground. When the infield defense isn't that great behind you, a .328 BABIP and 64% strand rate can happen.
Davis tied for third in the majors with 42 home runs, so he's a valuable fantasy player even if it's unlikely he hits above .250.
Sleepers
3B Ryon Healy
SP Sean Manaea
Healy, 25, has hit wherever he's been in the minors and he was promoted to the majors after the All-Star break. He continued to rake with a .305/.337/.524 line and 13 homers in the second half. Adding first base eligibility only adds to value as a late-round sleeper.
Manaea came to Oakland in the Ben Zobrist deal at the 2015 trade deadline and established himself as the organization's top prospect. He made his MLB debut last season and posted a 3.86 ERA in 25 appearances. He's similar to Gray in his strikeout and ground-ball rates ... but as we saw frequently last season, young pitchers often experience growing pains in their first exposure to the majors.
Bullpen
Closer: Ryan Madson
Next: Santiago Casilla/Sean Doolittle
Madson led the team with 30 saves, but he struggled down the stretch and finished with a 3.62 ERA. Doolittle closed in 2014, but injuries have limited him to a total of 52 2/3 innings over the past two seasons. Casilla adds another veteran to the mix. Don't invest too much in any of them because the A's are always willing to talk trade.
Position battles
To combat their small-market status, the A's have made a habit of maximizing the platoon advantage when they don't have a definite full-timer at a position. They could conceivably have every single position player on their bench as part of a platoon situation in 2017. For example, Josh Phegley provides a right-handed complement to Stephen Vogt at catcher. The same holds true for 1B Mark Canha, 2B Adam Rosales and OF Jake Smolinski.
The back end of the starting rotation could come down to who performs best in spring training. Andrew Triggs had an impressive audition late last season (2.81 ERA in six starts). Jesse Hahn suffered through injuries and a trip to the minors last season, but did pitch well in the majors in 2014 and 2015. Youngsters Daniel Megden, Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas all have some MLB experience and could also get a shot.
Prospects
SP Jharel Cotton
SS Franklin Barreto
2B Chad Pinder
A participant in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game (along with Healy), Cotton was acquired from the Dodgers in the Josh Reddick trade and he capped the season with five solid starts and a 2.15 ERA in September. Of all the A's pitchers, he may have the highest upside in strikeouts.
Barreto was the headliner in the 2014 Donaldson trade, so there's still time for the A's to recoup some of the value they lost. (Pitcher Kendall Graveman was also in that deal.) Barreto, 20, hit .281/.340/.413 at Class AA before finishing the year with four games at Class AAA. He'll start 2017 in the minors but could get the call anytime after the All-Star break.
Projected batting order
1. CF Rajai Davis
2. C Stephen Vogt
3. DH Ryon Healy
4. LF Khris Davis
5. RF Matt Joyce/Jake Smolinski
6. SS Marcus Semien
7. 3B Trevor Plouffe
8. 1B Yonder Alonso/Mark Canha
9. 2B Jed Lowrie/Adam Rosales
Projected rotation
1. RHP Sonny Gray
2. LHP Sean Manaea
3. RHP Kendall Graveman
4. RHP Andrew Triggs
5. RHP Jharel Cotton