Oakland Athletics: 2017 MLB season preview

The Oakland Athletics want to start the 2017 season off right, but do they have what it takes to be a contender in the AL West?

The Oakland Athletics are looking to get out of the American League West basement this year. They finished the 2016 season with a 69-93 record, five games back from the Angels and 26 games out of first place.

Oakland has been struggling the past two seasons after three consecutive trips to the postseason from 2012 to 2014. Since then, the As have spent the past two seasons in 5th place in the AL West basement. They improved upon 2015’s record of 68-94 by one game.

The As are hoping that this is the year that gets them back to their winning ways.

Mar 7, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) during a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitching

Sonny Gray (RHP, 2016: 5-11, 5.69 ERA, 117 IP, 94 SO, 1.50 WHIP) will start the year on the DL with a lat strain. He’s not expected to be back in the game anytime soon and might not debut in the 2017 season until late April.

With Gray out, Kendall Graveman (2016: 10-11, 4.11 ERA, 186.0 IP, 108 SO, 1.31 WHIP) is likely to start in the number one spot in the rotation and pitch on Opening Day. Graveman has thrown 19.2 innings in Spring Training for a 2.29.

Graveman will be followed in the rotation by Sean Manaea (2016: 7-9, 3.86 ERA, 144.2 IP, 124 SO, 1.19 WHIP) and Jharel Cotton (2-0, 2.15 ERA, 29.1 IP, 23 SO, 0.82 WHIP), with the final two spots going to Andrew Triggs and Raul Alcantara.

Sep 18, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Khris Davis (2) celebrates his two-run homer with first baseman Yonder Alonso (17) against the Texas Rangers during the event inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports /

Lineup

If you take one look at the A’s lineup, even with new additions to the roster you’ll notice that the averages are all in the same range. This could be an issue when it comes to performing better than last season.

Here’s a projection of what the lineup might look like for the 2017 season:

Catcher: Steve Vogt (2016: .251 AVG, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 0 SB, .711 OPS)

1B: Yonder Alonso (2016: .253 AVG, 7 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, .683 OPS)

2B: Jed Lowrie (2016: .263 AVG, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 0 SB, .637 OPS)

3B: Trevor Plouffe (2016: .260 AVG, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB, .723 OPS)

SS: Marcus Semien (2016: .238 AVG, 27 HR, 75 RBI, 10 SB, .735 OPS)

LF: Khris Davis (2016: .247 AVG, 42 HR, 102 RBI, 1 SB, .831 OPS)

CF: Rajai Davis (2016: .249 AVG, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 43 SB, .693 OPS)

RF: Matt Joyce (2016: .242 AVG, 13 HR, 42 RBI, 1 SB, .866 OPS)

Ryon Healy is available in the designated hitter spot. He’s been doing well at spring training, hitting .294 with five home runs and 16 RBI.

Sep 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Khris Davis (2) is congratulated by Ryon Healy and Stephen Vogt and teammates after hitting a double to win the game against the Boston Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum the Oakland Athletics defeated the Boston Red Sox 1 to 0. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

Bullpen

While Ryan Madson (6-7, 3.62 ERA, 64.2 IP, 49 SO, 1.28 WHIP) was Oakland’s closer last season, the final bullpen hasn’t been determined and might not be determined right away.

Manager Bob Melvin is still working out the details but he’s happy to know that he can call upon his guys at any point in a game and they’re ready. “They just want to pitch, and when you have guys like Ryan Madson who closed for us last year who’s telling me, ‘I’ll pitch anytime you need me to pitch, in any inning,’ that goes a long way in making the conversations easier.”

Here are some of the other names to know for the bullpen:

Santiago Casilla: RHP (2016: 2-5, 3.57 ERA, 58.0 IP)

Sean Doolittle: LHP (2016: 2-3, 3.23 ERA, 39 IP)

John Axford: RHP (2016: 6-4, 3.97 ERA, 65.2 IP)

Ryan Dull: RHP (2016: 5-5, 2.42 ERA, 74.1 IP)

Liam Hendriks: RHP (2016: 0-4, 3.76 ERA, 64.2 IP)

It’s possible that there could be another name on this list, but Melvin still has time to make some decisions.

Mar 23, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin (6) looks on against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Manager

Oakland Athletics’ manager Bob Melvin joined the Athletics in 2011, and he has taken the team to the postseason in three of his six seasons. He was able to take the team from third to first place in one season, but the past two seasons have been very rough.

Melvin started out managing the Mariners from 2003-04, and then he left for the National League and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005-09. He was able to take the Diamondbacks to the National League Championship Series in 2007 but that’s as far as he has gotten in the postseason in all of his years as a manager.

Sep 18, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Khris Davis (2) celebrates his homer with third base coach Ron Washington (38) against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports /

X-Factor

The addition of Khris Davis will help the team get their bats going this season, but will it be enough to jump start the team and get some much-needed wins? Davis had a chance to play with Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic but he turned it down to focus on spring training. If he can match his 42 home runs from last season, he will be a huge help to Oakland in 2017.

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But the As can’t hang all of their hopes on one player. Winning takes the entire team, and simply put the team needs to push themselves harder.

Sep 18, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Khris Davis (2) celebrates his 39th home run with shortstop Marcus Semien (10) during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction

The Oakland Athletics are working to figure out what has kept them in the AL West basement. However, it’s hard to gauge what’s wrong other than there are no big standouts on the team to be the tentpole for everyone else.

Khris Davis will help with scoring, but the loss of ace Sonny Gray, the rotation could be in jeopardy.

The A’s will have a better record than last season, but it’s likely that they will continue to struggle until some big roster moves give them more power in their lineup.