Oakland Athletics Season Predictions: A Guide To 2016

2016 Predictions: Breakout Stars and Busts

Biggest Breakout Performance in 2016:

Andrew: Chris Bassitt
Mark: Marcus Semien
Melson: Mark Canha
Katrina: Chris Bassitt
Rich: Yonder Alonso
Rylan: Chris Bassitt
Samantha: Ryan Dull

The big winner here was Bassitt, who is coming off a rookie season in which he posted a 3.56 ERA and a 1-8 record in 18 games and 13 starts. He seems poised to have a big year, and is perhaps the only name in the rotation who might compete with Gray in any statistical category.

Andrew added: “He showed really good stuff at the end of last season, and held his own nicely this spring. He could be as high as #2 in the rotation by the end of this season.”

The other pitcher on the list, Ryan Dull, started his career by pitching 11 scoreless innings for the A’s last year before watching his ERA spike after a couple of tough outings. This spring, he pitched nine scoreless innings to start his Cactus League season, but again, he was derailed abruptly with a bad game. If he can avoid the big outings and keep the damage to a minimum, he could become a go-to reliever for the A’s.

Semien, Canha, and Alonso are all players who could improve upon their 2015 performance, with Semien perhaps having an advantage. Not being the worst defensive shortstop in the league would go along way in terms of improvement for him.

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Biggest Bust in 2016:

Andrew: Billy Butler
Mark: Billy Burns
Melson: Rich Hill
Katrina: Rich Hill
Rich: Rich Hill
Rylan: Billy Butler
Samantha: Rich Hill

Mark pointed out that “bust” is a negative word, which is not at all what he meant when he selected Burns: “Burns is going to have to make some adjustments, and in the process some people are going to be calling ‘sophomore slump’. He’ll be just fine for the postseason.”

The remainder of the vote was split between Butler and Hill. Hill had only four good starts with Boston last season, where he outperformed his career numbers by far. In Spring Training, he looked much more like the pitcher has been throughout his career, and those poor results are reason for concern. Butler is coming off a very bad season, but his expensive contract makes him a bust even if he improves marginally over what he did last year.

Next: 2016 Predictions: Bouncebacks and WAR