Lawrence Butler playing for the Oakland Athletics in 2023, CCed by Liscense 2.0
Honestly, I just feel bad for the fans of the Athletics. They haven’t had anything to look forward to since they had Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Matt Chapman, and Mark Canha all on the same team and even then, things just were not clicking. We have come to expect the A’s to sit at the bottom of the AL. For fans, things look pretty grim.
Oakland Athletics (69-93)
AVG: .233 (25th out of 30)
SO: 1502 (25th out of 30)
OPS: .694 (20th out of 30)
Runs Scored per Game: 3.97 (26th out of 30)
ERA: 4.37 (25th out of 30)
WHIP: 1.333 (25th out of 30)
Runs Allowed per Game: 4.72 (25th out of 30)
Strikeouts per 9: 7.9 (29th out of 30)
Looking at the Athletics stats this year, both sides of the ball were extremely underwhelming. This has been the narrative for the Athletics for the past few years while they attempt to put a competitive roster together. This season, hitting was not their strong suit. The Athletics struggled with everything aside from hitting for power. They were in the bottom half for all the above hitting stats, with the exception of home runs. The fact that they have people that can hit for power is a good thing, they just need to be able to hit for contact and hit for average as a team as well.
Pitching was even worse. There was absolutely nothing of value that was added through pitching. Of the pitching stats listed above, the Athletics ranked in the bottom third in all of them. They average more runs allowed per game than runs scored per game, and still won 69 games. While that is not a lot, the offense was able to provide enough in games even though their pitching was lackluster. If the pitching for the Athletics can improve in the offseason, I would expect the Athletics to win more games and start to become more competitive in the AL.
The Athletics have multiple players and things to look forward to next season:
The Athletics have multiple players that looked really good this year including Mason Miller, Lawrence Butler, Shea Langliers, Jacob Wilson, and Zack Gelof. These players are all 26 and below, with players like Gelof, Butler, and Miller getting their first full season of work this year; experience that will be crucial and valuable in their future development.
Mason Miller had by far the biggest breakout season on the Athletics. Known for his triple digit fastball, along with a slider, he was one of the most notorious closers in the league this year. The only issue with this is the Athletics likely do not want to waste his pitching prowess when they are only winning 69 games, so do not be surprised if he gets traded in the coming season. In 2024, he had a 2.49 ERA, with 104 strikeouts, 28 saves, and he did all of this in just 55 games, as he was injured for a couple weeks during the season. In his first year of full action, having a 2.49 ERA is incredible. He was a very reliable closer/reliever, averaging 14.4 K/9. I would expect him to continue to add to his resume and become a 2x all-star. His main thing to improve on in the future would be being able to keep his pitch count down as much as possible. This would allow him to pitch multiple games in a week and be utilized more often.
Lawrence Butler certainly carved out a future in the MLB this year, whether it be with the Athletics or not. He was able to average .262, with 22 HR, 57 RBI’s, and 18 SB in 125 games. For his first full season of work he was one of the few bright spots for the crumbling Athletics team. He had the 2nd highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) on the team at three, leading him to be one of the most reliable and most effective players when on the field. He is only 24 and still under the Athletics control for a while, so I would look for him to continually have an effect on the team for the better. He just needs to be a tad bit more selective at the plate so he can draw more walks. He walked a meager 35 times in 451 plate appearances, and struckout 108 times. If he can find a happy medium between being selective and being aggressive, he will be extremely successful in the MLB.
Jacob Wilson made his debut this year and was able to climb from Double AA to the Major League roster. In the minors this year, plus a stint with the Rookie ball team, he averaged .433, hit 7 HR, and had 39 RBI’s in 53 games. His batting average is absolutely insane and is something the Athletics have to look forward to next season if he is able to maintain his consistency as a hitter. If he is fully able to unlock his power, he could be in the conversation for Rookie of the Year next season. In his small sample size of 92 at bats this season he was able to average .250, with 0 HR, and 3 RBI’s. Despite the lack of immediate success in the majors, do not be surprised when Wilson makes the Opening Day roster right out of Spring Training.
Zack Gelof slowed down a little bit in his first full season, but there is still a lot to be excited about. He averaged .211, with 17 HR, 49 RBI’s, 25 SB, and he did this in 138 games. In his prior season where he only appeared in 69 games he put up similar numbers, and was projected to do a lot better this season. This could be the sophomore slumps, or could be accredited to this being his first full season of action and there was simply more film and statistics for pitchers to look at, so they could game plan to face him. If he can make adjustments off of this season, I would expect him to get back to the form we saw him in when he first entered the league in 2023.
The A’s have been loading up on farm system talent in the last couple drafts and international signing periods, and prospects like Nick Kurtz, Luis Morales, and Colby Thomas look very promising.
Kurtz was drafted over the summer out of Wake Forest 4th overall, and he was able to make his professional debut this season as well. He ended the year in Double-A after playing only 7 games in Single-A. He played 12 games total and averaged .368, with 4 HR, and 13 RBI’s. I would expect him to start the season either back with the Double-A team or with the Athletics High-A affiliate, just so he can get more experience at the professional level. He was drafted as a consistent hitter with power and that is something extremely hard to find. Most players have one or the other, and if they can hit for contact and for power, they have trouble being consistent. If he is able to replicate what he did at Wake Forest, averaging a combined .333 over 3 seasons, with 61 HR, and 182 RBI’s, he has the chance to have an amazing career with the Athletics and fly through their farm system to a hopeful debut by the 2026 season.
Luis Morales was signed as a part of the 2023 international class, and he performed ok this year in his first full year of professional baseball. In 2024, he had a 4.22 ERA, with 84 strikeouts and 36 walks over 81 innings pitched. Morales uses a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup to work his magic on the diamond. His main issue lies in his walks and pitching efficiency. He was only able to make it to the 6th inning in one of his starts this year which is a little alarming. If he can pound the strike zone and get into pitcher-friendly counts early in at-bats, I would expect to see him get the promotion to Double-A. He will most likely start back out in High-A, so he can work out some of the issues he ran into last season. There are a lot of exciting things to look forward to with Morales and he could have an impact on the Athletics as early as 2027 or late 2026 if he can work on getting deeper into ball games. If he continues to struggle, it would not surprise me if he gets moved to the bullpen with his 4 pitch mix.
Colby Thomas, ranked as the Athletics 7th best prospect in their system, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2022 MLB draft. This season was his second full season of professional baseball and he was able to get the promotion from Double-A to Triple-A. Across both teams, he averaged .277, with 31 HR, 92 RBI’s, and 15 SB in 132 games. He should start the 2025 season back on the Triple-A squad, working towards a promotion to the MLB squad which should come this season. He has a chance to be something special with his ability to play all three outfield spots, where he was primarily used in left field this year. He also has raw power, with 80 of his 142 hits being extra base hits. If he gets the promotion this year, he will not only add some much needed depth to the outfield, but some much needed offense. Translating his success from the minor leagues to the majors is what many teams need to look out for. I would circle him as someone who could be an All-Star by 2028. He is only 23, which means he still has more growth ahead of him as a player, so for the Athletics sake, let’s hope this year was not a peak year and he can continue to build off of his extraordinary successes this season.
The Athletics have a long road ahead of them before they can even be in the conversation for a World Series title, and for fans I know that is hard to hear. However, there is no shortage of talent on the way to reinforce this struggling team. It could take a couple of seasons, but depending on what happens over the next couple of free agency periods, I could see the Athletics being a Wild Card team in the next 4 seasons. Watch out for this squad in the coming seasons, because if everything goes their way, they have the potential to be very scary.
