Oakland Athletics: 2014 Midseason Grades
By Cody Pasby
Offense
Currently the A’s are second only to their division rival Los Angeles Angels in the American League in runs scored, and they rank among the top half of the league in nearly every offensive category. The continued success of Crisp (currently seventh in the AL in on-base percentage), Donaldson (fifth in the AL in runs scored, seventh in home runs) and Yoenis Cespedes (14 home runs, 56 RBI’s) has helped the A’s maintain one of the leagues best offenses, but Brandon Moss has probably been the team’s offensive MVP.
Moss, who was an afterthought on some bad Pirates teams just a few seasons ago, has been the offensive leader for the best team in baseball so far in 2014. He currently ranks in the top ten in slugging percentage (.530), home runs (21), RBI’s (66), OPS+(145) and extra base hits (40). While it’s no secret to fans in Oakland how good Moss is after a 30 homer season just one year ago, the rest of the league is finally starting to realize that Moss is now one of the best first baseman in the league.
Thus far, the A’s offense, as a whole, has been greater than the sum of its parts, but those parts have still been pretty great. Manager Bob Melvin has perfected his platoons this season, even going with an almost unheard of three catcher rotation. But when Derek Norris has a .402 OBP, John Jaso has an .800 on-base plus slugging percentage and Stephen Vogt has .358 batting average, you can see why Melvin likes to mix things up behind the plate.
Depth and versatility has been a trademark for Oakland over the last few seasons, and with solid group of catchers, plus role players off the bench like Nick Punto and Craig Gentry, that trend has continued in 2014. They may not have the absolute best bats in the game, but when accounting for their depth and their power, the A’s can stand toe to toe with practically any offense in baseball.
Grade: A-