2012 Oakland Athletics Predictions
Billy Beane’s magic appears to be wearing off. The A’s, who averaged 95 wins for seven seasons from 2000-06, have been under .500 each year since. Another sub-.500 campaign seems inevitable after pitchers Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey were shipped off for prospects. Beane’s fire sale may eventually work, but 2012 figures to be a tough season for A’s supporters.
Projected Pitching
Starting rotation: Dallas Braden (L) – The A’s are desperately hoping Braden, who is coming off shoulder surgery, will be at least as good as he was in 2010 when he went 11-14 with a 3.50 ERA and logged 192.2 innings.
Brandon McCarthy (R) – McCarthy is coming off his best season in the bigs. He went 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA while making a career-high 25 starts. With 123 strikeouts and just 25 walks, he broke Dan Haren’s team record for strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Bartolo Colon (R) – The A’s saw plenty of Colon when he pitched for the Angels from 2004-07. He was a solid contributor for the Yankees in 2011, finishing 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA in 29 games.
Jarrod Parker (R) – He came to Oakland from Arizona in the Cahill trade. Two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Parker appears ready to make a name for himself. An effortless wind-up makes his low-to-mid-90′s gas seem even faster.
Brad Peacock (R) – He came over from the Nationals in the Gonzalez deal after going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 12.0 innings last season.
Closer: Grant Balfour (R) – With Bailey, who saved 75 games the past three seasons, off to Boston, Balfour could take over the closer role. He limited foes to a .199 average in 62 appearances last season.
Projected Lineup
Kurt Suzuki (Catcher) – Suzuki has been a workhorse for the A’s. His 516 starts behind home plate the past four seasons are more than any other catcher in the bigs. The heavy workload appeared to take its toll last season as he hit just .237.
Brandon Allen (First Base) – Allen will compete with Daric Barton, Chris Carter and Kila Ka’aihue for the first base job. His potential to post good power numbers makes him the favorite to land the job.
Jemile Weeks (Second Base) – Weeks burst onto the scene in 2011 and batted .303 with 26 doubles, eight triples and 36 RBIs in 101 games. He has star quality.
Scott Sizemore (Third Base) – The A’s are counting on him to provide even more pop now that Josh Willingham has been moved. Sizemore posted totals of 11 home runs and 52 RBIs while starting 88 of the final 102 games after coming over from Detroit.
Cliff Pennington (Shortstop) – Pennington led the A’s in batting average in 2011, but that’s not saying much considering he only hit .264. His 22 errors were the second-highest total among AL shortstops.
Seth Smith (Left Field) – He battled .284 with 32 doubles, nine triples, 15 home runs and 59 RBIs for Colorado last year.
Coco Crisp (Center Field) – His speed makes him a quality leadoff hitter and sound defender. He batted .264 with eight home runs and 54 RBIs a year ago.
Josh Reddick (Right Field) – He came over from Boston in the Bailey trade. He batted .280 with seven round trippers in 87 games for the Red Sox in 2011.
Jonny Gomes (Designated Hitter) – He won’t hit for average but has the potential to put up some decent power numbers. He’s hit at least 17 home runs in five of the past eight seasons.
Prediction – 4th Place AL West: It will be very difficult for the A’s to compete in the West with all they gave up during the offseason. The A’s are listed at +3000 to win the AL West.
