Lazaro Armenteros finally showed what Oakland A’s had hoped for

It took three tries, but Lazaro Armenteros finally showed what the Oakland A’s had been hoping for in High-A.

Armenteros had spent the 2022 campaign back with the Lansing Lugnuts. It was his second season in Lansing and third attempt in High-A overall. If he was ever going to give the A’s any reason for hope, it would have to come this season.

Oakland A’s have sliver of hope with Lazaro Armenteros

Based on his production, that was the case. Armenteros posted a .261/.376/.479 batting line in his 198 plate appearances, hitting ten homers and six doubles while stealing 13 bases. Yes, he continued to strike out far too often as he struck out 86 times, but he also had a career best walk rate as he drew 29 walks.

The biggest issue was that he did not get enough playing time to justify a move up to Double-A. He battled injuries throughout the season, a pitch that hit his foot at the end of August bringing his 2022 campaign to a painful end.

That performance, and his relatively limited playing time, leave the A’s with a somewhat difficult decision to make for the beginning of the 2023 season. They could justify sending Armenteros back to High-A for a fourth consecutive year as he had under 200 plate appearances. However, he also performed well enough to finally get a chance at Double-A next year.

Chances are, the latter will be the case unless Armenteros completely falls apart during spring training. They need to give him that next challenge to see if he will ever be a part of their future. While that seemed unlikely to be the case at the beginning of the season, there is at least a sliver of hope going forward.

Lazaro Armenteros finally started to show signs of progress for the Oakland A’s. He may actually be part of their future once again.