Fantasy Baseball: Oakland Athletics Pitchers

Jesse Hahn – This is where things get tricky for Oakland starters. It is unclear how the rotation will fill out behind Kazmir and gray. hahn looks like a strong candidate for the number three spot after coming over from San Diego in the Derek Norris deal. In 73.1 innings across 12 starts in 2014 Hahn was great. He pitched to the tune of a 3.07 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning. Here is an excerpt from my 2015 team primer back in February:

"“In 2014 Hahn’s ERA and K/9 bested Chavez, Kazmir, and Gray. His FIP bested Pomeranz, Chavez, and Gray, and his xFIP bested Chavez and Kazmir.”"

Jun 19, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jesse Hahn (45) pitches during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN doesn’t see even a top-150 starter here, but that is likely due to the unknown capacity in which the A’s use Hahn. In deeper mixed leagues – 12 and 14-team – he is certainly worth a look.

Two Key Stats: 1. 3.9 BB/9. If he can lower his walk rate by at least one he will improve his rate stats across the board, and perhaps increase his innings total. 2. His 115.2 innings across two levels in 2014 was a career high. He is a former Tommy John surgery recipient and is in his third organization. He certainly has talent, but health is a big question mark. The A’s are not known for putting innings limits, but I think they see a future front-line starter in Hahn and they may watch him closely in that regard.

Hahn is going undrafted in ESPN standard leagues, and is owned in just 3.8 percent of leagues. Feel free to target him in the late round rounds of your draft.

Next: Jesse Chavez