Oakland A’s: Three takeaways from Opening Week

With the first full week of the season in the books, let’s look at some takeaways from the Oakland A’s first nine games.

The beginning of the season has been a roller coaster for the Oakland A’s. While they sit in a tie for first place in the AL West, victories have not exactly been easy to come by. The offense has generally been invisible, scoring more than three runs exactly twice thus far. However, their excellent pitching has, for the most part, mitigated those issues.

Let’s look at what we have learned about the Oakland A’s thus far.

The typical slow start has affected the offense

It is a minor miracle that the A’s have started the season at 5-4 and are in a tie for first in the AL West. Their 30 runs rank 12th in the American League, and they have scored more than three runs in a game just twice this season.

There are certainly some areas of concern. Khris Davis finally recorded his first hit of the season on Saturday, and has struck out ten times in his 23 plate appearances. Second base, which was a giant question mark heading into the season, has not had any clarity thus far. Tony Kemp may be the nominal starter, but his production has not been enough to solidify his presence in the lineup.

Even the players that were a given to produce have yet to do so. Neither Matt Olson nor Matt Chapman have set the world afire thus far; Olson’s home run and four of his five RBI came on Opening Day. Marcus Semien has not been able to replicate his MVP caliber season from 2019 to this point.

But that does not mean that it is all bad for the Oakland A’s. Robbie Grossman has been relatively hot to start the season, giving the A’s a spark that they desperately need. Ramon Laureano is continuing his climb as one of the better young players in the game. Mark Canha has produced when given the opportunity.

For now, that has been enough. But if the Oakland A’s are going to break the Astros stranglehold on the AL West, they will need to get those bats going soon.