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How Do the Oakland A’s Stack Up Against The AL West

By Riley Wilkins

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 24: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics tags Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels during the game at RingCentral Coliseum on July 24, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JULY 24: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics tags Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels during the game at RingCentral Coliseum on July 24, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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Left Field

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
  1. HOU: Michael Brantley
  2. OAK: Mark Canha/Chad Pinder
  3. LAA: Justin Upton
  4. TEX: David Dahl
  5. SEA: Taylor Trammell

It can be tricky to assign specific positions to outfielders, specifically on a team like the Oakland A’s, where positional flexibility isn’t uncommon. Most of the other judges treated left field as Mark Canha’s position while I anticipated Canha to play each outfield position and Chad Pinder getting a decent amount of reps in left.

I love Michael Brantly. He possesses one of the sweetest swings in baseball and has become one of the more reliable bats in MLB. He is getting up there in age, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, so he owns this spot for me. Behind Canha, who has developed into a consistent, underrated player himself, there are three interesting cases to consider.

The potentially past his prime superstar Justin Upton, the injury-riddled former top prospect David Dahl, and the acclaimed yet unproven youngster Taylor Trammell. I had Upton highest because I like his track record and think he still can threaten people with his bat, but I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these outfielders discover or rediscover a little magic. The odd one out of the judges this time was Trevor, who believes the Angels will be hands down the division winners. His vote went to Justin Upton, citing that he believes in his bat to bounce back.