Who Should The Oakland Athletics Call-Up Next?

With the September roster expansions, this is the perfect time for the Oakland Athletics to evaluate their minor leagues players to see who may be ready to play in the Majors for the 2016 season. In order to successfully assess all of their players and determine which positions they may need to strengthen through trades this offseason, the Athletics are going to need to send down and bring up numerous minor leaguers until the season ends on October 4. So, who should the A’s bring up next from the minors?

Sean Nolin (SP)

Nolin was injured for much of the 2015 season, but he is healthy once again and is pitching well. Before he went on the DL, he was strongly considered for the 2015 starting rotation. In the minors in 2014, Nolin had a 3.43 ERA over 17 starts. Since returning from the disabled list, he has 2.66 ERA over 47.1 innings pitched and has only allowed five homers. Nolin has an average fastball that resides in the low 90s and an above average changeup that tends to elude batters. Nolin could be a potential starter next season, but he has limited experience pitching in the Majors. The Athletics should bring him up, so he can test out his skills in the big leagues.

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Joey Wendle (2B)

Some expected that Wendle was going to be coming to Oakland in the group of eight players that were called up on September 1. Wendle has been great this season with a .288/.322/.425 slash line and was named to the All-PCL team this week. However, there is some concern about starting his Major League service clock now since the team is not in postseason contention. If A’s fans do not see him this September, they will surely see him at spring training since he is predicted to reach the MLB by 2016.

Craig Gentry (OF)

Even though Gentry was a good contributor in 2014, he has been in Triple-A since late May of this season. Unfortunately, the Athletics outfield is just too crowded and some of the other players are more well rounded than Gentry. He is great defensively, but tends to struggle at the plate. His atrocious offense this year is what got him sent down to Triple-A in the first place. If the A’s do plan on keeping him and not trading him during the offseason, they should bring Gentry up in September.

Unfortunately Barry Zito did not make this short list because he is still on the disabled list. The Oakland Athletics are going to have to figure out what they want to do with Zito once the season ends. Until now, the A’s will look toward the future and evaluate which minor leaguers may be able to play in the Majors in 2016.

Next: Rookie Ryan Dull Could Have Bright future With Oakland Athletics