Oakland Athletics Should Promote These Five Players In September

Jul 22, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Jake Smolinski (5) looks back to first base while advancing to second on a throwing error by Toronto Blue Jays third baseman

(not pictured) during the fourth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Smolinski

Let’s start with the obvious one.

When Jake Smolinski was acquired from the Texas Rangers back in May, it looked like the Oakland Athletics were picking up a rival team’s leftovers. What came next was certainly unexpected. From the time he began playing at Triple-A Nashville to the time that he was called up to the A’s in July, he pulverized Pacific Coast League pitching. When he left Nashville, he was batting .420/.469/.750. The A’s really had no choice but to promote the waiver acquisition during a time that the team desperately needed help on offense against left-handed pitching.

Smolinski came to Oakland, played 11 games, and batted .320/.379/.640 (that’s a 1.019 OPS) for the Major League club. He did so well that the A’s … sent him back to Nashville.

He has had 18 at-bats since being sent back to Nashville, through which he is batting .389 and has a pair of walks and home runs.

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Forget September call-ups. Bring Smolinski back to the A’s now. He has proven that he is above Triple-A pitching, and there is nothing left to be gained by leaving him in the minors. He is at the peak of his development at that level, and he will only get better by facing Major League pitching at this point.

Smolinski’s only weak split during his brief stint with the A’s were his hitting numbers while on the road. In away games, his average was .182 compared to the .429 that he hit while at home. This may be an indication that the Coliseum is better suited for his particular hitting style. Even then, these numbers are based on a small sample size, and it would be reasonable to assume that even his away-game numbers would eventually rise to a level that is more indicative of his ability.

Smolinski has already auditioned for the club, and he should already be in.

Next: A Second Baseman...

Mar 7, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Joe Wendle (52) slides at home plate and scores a run against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training baseball game at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Joey Wendle

Joey Wendle was the return from the Cleveland Indians when the A’s decided to send Brandon Moss to Ohio last offseason. The scouting report on Wendle explains that he has decent power for a middle infielder, and that this makes him a good doubles hitter with occasional home run power. His defensive skills are average, but he has settled into the every-day second baseman role in Nashville.

Wendle is a classic case of a young prospect who showed tremendous potential that was halted by a significant injury. That same scouting report explains that he suffered a broken hamate bone in 2014, which cost him half a season of development time at Double-A.

This season, he is batting .277 with a .718 OPS in Nashville. These are not necessarily numbers that will blow anybody away, but that isn’t the reason that he should be called up this season.

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The actual reason is that the window is closing on Wendle. The A’s are currently in the midst of an infield crisis. Marcus Semien has been rekindling his plate presence in the last few games, but he had a June and July so rough that any other shortstop with his service time would have been sent to Triple-A (we’re not even going to talk about his defense; we all know.). Danny Valencia has notched a hit in every start since he has been an Oakland A, but his presence at third base has booted Brett Lawrie to a somewhat uncomfortable position at second base. Eric Sogard is a tremendous defensive second baseman, but Wendle would have a significant offensive advantage over Sogard.

So that is why the window is open for Wendle right now. But why is the window closing? The answer is that the A’s have loaded their farm system with infielders through trades and draft picks. By 2017, Franklin Barreto, Chad Pinder, and Matt Chapman will all certainly be competing for Major League spots on the infield. By 2018, Richie Martin and Mikey White will be added into the mix. These are all players with much higher ceilings than Wendle. If the A’s want to get any return at all on their trade for Brandon Moss (other than salary relief), then 2016 is the year to use Wendle. He will simply be outmatched by all of the young talent that will be arriving in 2017.

Next: An Outfielder...

Feb 28, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Jason Pridie (7) poses for a portrait during Photo Day at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Pridie

Jason Pridie represents a “next man up” for the Oakland Athletics outfield. The reason that the A’s need a next man up in the outfield is that left fielder Sam Fuld officially fell below the Mendoza Line on Wednesday. At .197/.274/.291 for the year, it is becoming more and more difficult to justify having Fuld as an option.

It would be consistent with the A’s philosophy of lineup management to let go of Fuld, too. Consider Josh Reddick’s splits. Bob Melvin benches him against left-handed pitching because he is hitting only .193 against them. Well Fuld’s average is equally that bad, except against all pitching. Furthermore, Fuld’s defense has not been exemplary enough to be worth putting him in the lineup. With a fielding percentage of .981 and a range factor of 1.87 per nine innings, Fuld’s defense is actually slightly below the league average.

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It is difficult to tell at first if Pridie would represent an upgrade over Fuld. He has been given Major League chances before with the Twins, Mets, Phillies, Orioles, and most recently the Rockies. 2011 was the only season that he played more than a handful of games, and he slashed .231/.309/.370 that season through 101 games.

But Pridie’s defensive metrics in Nashville have been incredible this season. His .992 fielding percentage and 2.37 range factor are considerable upgrades over what Fuld is doing in the outfield with the A’s this year. For those that fear that removing Fuld would damage the A’s defense, replacing him with Pridie might actually result in an even better defensive outfield.

Here is the most important part, though. Pridie has been ping-ponging back and forth from the minors to the majors for over ten years, but this is the best year he has ever had. His .298 average in Nashville is only the second time he has gotten it that high, he already has a career-high 16 home runs as well as a career high 46 walks. His 19 stolen bases have him on track to match his career high in that category as well.

It took Pridie awhile to get to this level of proficiency as he is 31 years old at this point, but does that remind you of anyone? It should.

Stephen Vogt spent seven seasons in the minors and was not promoted to the majors until 2012 when he was 27 years old. The A’s did not start using him regularly until after he had turned 28 the following year. Teams do not normally gamble on players that achieve Major League readiness for the first time at that age, but late bloomers do exist. The A’s are reaping the benefits of taking a chance on Stephen Vogt, and Jason Pridie may similarly surprise them if they give him a chance this September.

Next: A Starting Pitcher...

Mar 31, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Barry Zito (75) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Barry Zito

The Nashville Sounds announced on Sunday that Barry Zito was going to go on the team’s 7-Day Disabled List with a minor shoulder injury. This injury is not considered serious. Susan Slusser wrote that his move to the DL was more of a roster shuffle so that the Sounds could make room for Taylor Thompson, who is coming off of the DL. Pending an emergency call-up, Zito is expected to start for the Sounds on Saturday.

Swingin’ A’s has covered why Zito should be promoted in the past, and the same holds true for the present day. Zito has been pitching with a mission in Triple-A this season. He owns a 3.48 ERA through 22 starts, and he has not shown any signs of slowing down. Through his last five starts, that ERA is down to an even 3.00. He had many critics that thought that his age would keep him from pitching well for an extended amount of time, but he is working hard to prove them wrong.

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Most importantly though, the Oakland Athletics are in desperate need of starting pitching. Although the trade of Scott Kazmir was widely anticipated, nobody expected Jesse Hahn to suddenly become unavailable due to injury. Hahn was initially expected to miss only a month, but today is day 28, and there have been no signs that he is going to resume baseball activities any time soon. Aaron Brooks has been a decent stopgap. His first two starts were surprisingly good, and his last one was a disappointing eight earned-run effort against the Blue Jays (but don’t look too much into that — who hasn’t given up eight runs to this Blue Jays lineup?).

Zito will recover from this minor setback quickly, and he should make a start in Nashville just to make sure he has fully recovered. Once this has happened, the A’s do not have a reason to keep him in Nashville after September 1st. Bring up Barry Zito to support this fragile starting rotation.

Next: A Relief Pitcher...

Feb 28, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Angel Castro (71) poses for a portrait during Photo Day at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Angel Castro

The Oakland Athletics gave Angel Castro a chance at the beginning of the season, and it did not end well. Although his ERA in the majors was only 2.25, he gave up eight hits and three walks in just four innings of work. That is too much traffic for a handful of relief appearances.

But Castro seems to have it figured out.

Castro is Nashville’s hottest relief pitcher right now. He has not given up an earned run in his last seven appearances (during which he pitched eight innings). During that stretch, he has only given up three hits and has walked only one, and this includes Tuesday’s appearance where he pitched a perfect innings with three strikeouts.

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As for the A’s bullpen? This seems unnecessary, but here’s the rundown. In the American League, A’s relievers are second to last in ERA, second in blown saves, and they have given up the fifth most home runs, and have done all of this while pitching the fourth fewest innings.

The A’s should not sporadically recall relievers from their system and haphazardly use them in big league games just to see what sticks. They would not get any meaningful sample sizes that way. They should use September call-ups as an opportunity to test one or two relievers and give them a significant enough amount of innings in order to accurately judge their ability at the Major League level.

If the A’s do this, Castro should be at the top of the list to try his hand at the highest level once again. The point of sending somebody with Major League potential to Triple-A is to work out the bugs in their game. Castro has demonstrated that he has done this in Nashville, and he has maintained an excellent body of work for a long enough stretch of games to merit a September call-up.

Next: Five Free Agents the A's Need in 2016