Oakland Athletics Finally Have a Strong Bullpen

The Oakland Athletics had a surprisingly good first week of the season thanks to some solid relief pitching.

More from Oakland Athletics

As the Oakland Athletics get settled into this new season, they find themselves in first place in the American League West with a 4-3 record.

Their offense hasn’t found a consistent stride yet, but the mostly new group of relief pitchers has been dominant. Oakland fans have reason to be excited for their pitching this season because the A’s were named bullpen of the week.

The two veteran newcomers, John Axford and Ryan Madson, haven’t allowed a run in either of their first four appearances. Their efforts were huge for the A’s, as they swept the Seattle Mariners over the weekend.

When a team adjusts its roster more often than other clubs — as the A’s do — it’s never quite certain how the new faces in Oakland will initially perform or how long it will take the team to gel. So, to see Oakland’s bullpen hit the ground running has been a major relief for fans.

For many, it still doesn’t make sense that the A’s got rid of Josh Donaldson. But the smart roster moves made by the front office, in addressing their relief pitching, have somewhat made up for that bit of madness. Axford looks like a guy who will be a consistent reliever in the sixth through seventh inning range. However, the A’s are featuring Madson as a hybrid setup reliever/closer.

Ryan Madson spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies before landing with the Kansas City Royals last season. Oakland definitely scouted him well because he’s been a great fit for the A’s. In his first four appearances, Madson already has two saves with four strikeouts and only two hits allowed.

The veteran leadership of Madson and Axford should be helpful for an A’s team that severely lacked leaders in 2015.

The Athletics also have a couple of strong young relievers in Ryan Dull and Sean Doolittle. Both of them are under 30 and have spent their entire careers in Oakland. Dull was especially productive over the opening week, notching five strikeouts while giving up zero runs and zero hits in four innings of work. At only 26 years old, Ryan Dull could develop into a key member of Oakland’s bullpen if he continues to pitch with command and confidence.

More from Golden Gate Sports

Even though Sean Doolittle allowed one earned run in four innings, he earned his first save of the season on Sunday at Seattle. Coco Crisp hit a clutch go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning and then Doolittle shut down Seattle’s comeback effort with two strikeouts in the bottom half of the frame.

The Oakland Athletics intend to feature Doolittle as their main closer this season. He’s a guy who can easily make the All-Star game this year if he can manage to stay healthy. Closers have to have high energy and command if they wish to be successful — and Doolittle will definitely be that type of pitcher for the A’s.

Oakland won their fourth game of the season, 2-1 on a Sunday when Felix Hernandez was stellar for the Mariners. It was a complete team win and with that kind of effort from their pitchers the A’s could be highly competitive within the AL West.

Next: Oakland Athletics Fans Still Optimisitc

Oakland’s management must trust in their offensive development and believe it will come along since they chose to replace mostly pitchers instead of other position players over the course of the offseason. So far though, that decision seems to have been the correct one.

Home/Oakland Athletics