On Saturday, the A’s finally got to see what their $36 million man could do. Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes made his Cactus League debut on Saturday and put on quite a show, going 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI single, and a home run. The A’s were definitely salivating at the mouth over Cespedes’ performance on Saturday, and fans of the team were definitely excited to see the Cuban star in action.
The A’s are in desperate need of a power hitter, and with Cespedes they may get the power production they’ve longed for. It’s easy to get caught up in all this Cespedes hype, but at the same time, it’s important to remain realistic about Cespedes’ first season in the bigs.
In his second start on Sunday, Cespedes struggled a bit. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Royals. Cespedes has talent, but it’s important to remember the A’s are still taking a big risk with Cuban star. He’ll likely go through an occasional rough patch here and there during the year.
In other spring news, how about Tom Milone? The guy is looking mighty impressive, isn’t he? Ranked #6 on my list of A’s Top 10 Prospects this year, Milone has shown flashes of brilliance in three appearances this spring. He’s gone 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 7 SO in 8.2 innings of work this spring.
Oakland’s starting rotation is still far from being complete, but Milone is definitely making things a whole lot easier for skipper Bob Melvin & company. The A’s have Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colon penciled in at No. 1 and No. 2, but after that the rotation is a bit sketchy. With the way things are going, though, Milone should definitely be in the running for one of the vacant spots in Oakland’s rotation.
Jarrod Parker, Brad Peacock, and Tyson Ross, meanwhile, are all vying for a spot in the rotation as well. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, Oakland’s rotation could look a little something like this: McCarthy, Colon, Milone, Ross, Parker. Melvin and the rest of Oakland’s front office, though, will be the ones responsible for putting the best product on the field.
On offense, Manny Ramirez is still looking for his first hit of the spring. He’s gone 0-for-8 with a strikeout over his three games of action this spring. He hasn’t shown me much, but he has shown a little effort while busting down the line. That’s the kind of effort we’d all like to see from Manny this year.
The first-base job is still seemingly up for grabs. Kila Ka’aihue, Brandon Allen, Chris Carter, and Daric Barton are all currently in the run for the job. Right now, though, the job (if up to me) would have to go to Allen, who has 8 RBIs so far this spring.
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