5 Oakland Athletics to be excited about in 2024

Zack Gelof is a stud. The second baseman debuted in 2023, getting called up to Oakland just after the all-star break and quickly becoming one of the A's best players. He slashed .267/.337/.504 with 14 homers and 14 steals, adding strong defense at the keystone.

Coming into the year, he was ranked by Fangraphs as the Athletics' 5th best prospect. Though he hadn't been known as a power hitter, he knocked 26 home runs between Triple-A and the majors last year.

Despite striking out just over 27% of the time in the majors, that figure is actually a bit lower than his minor league strikeout rates which is a great sign for his plate discipline moving forward.

According to Statcast, Gelof had a healthy 11.1% barrel rate and his 89.8 average exit velocity was a tick above league average. While he does have a tendency to hit the ball into the ground, Gelof is fast enough to beat out more plays than most.

If Gelof is able to keep hitting hard fly balls, he's going to have a lot of success at the major league level. He's one of the most exciting players Oakland fans will be able to watch for the next few years.