Are the A's actually fun? Beachside Baseball Notebook
The A's entertaining run, Schwellenbach and the Braves
The Oakland Athletics aren’t good, but is anyone else surprised by how entertaining they have been recently?
Lawrence Butler’s recent three-home run game was enough to help put the spotlight on his individual performance, but the team has built a foundation of exciting youngsters. It might not be enough to carry them to relevance, or even that many of these players will be in the A’s long-term plans, but I find myself putting them on the TV more often than teams like the Tigers, Mets, or other average teams or Wild Card contenders.
Butler is one of the prospects I enjoyed following the most this year and his breakout performance in Oakland has continued since then. In the three games since the All-Star break, he’s collected seven hits and three walks, compared to just two strikeouts. This isn’t to proclaim Butler the next Athletics star, but that there’s a budding element of fun for this team.
Here are some of the recent best performers for Oakland and their respective ages.
Kyle McCann (26), Butler (24), Max Schuemann (27), Shea Langeliers (26), Zack Gelof (24), JJ Bleday (26)
There’s a curious little grouping here of interesting players. They might not ever develop into everyday regulars for a contender, but I find myself looking at the A’s box scores every morning to check on some of these potential talents.
There are some interesting young pitchers like Joey Estes and Mitch Spence, and of course, Mason Miller.
The best player for Oakland has been Brent Rooker, who is likely to be traded away at the deadline. So, again, I’m not out here to declare the A’s a sneaky Wild Card contender. But many of these young players have already worked their way into regular playing time, and with trades sending out some of the A’s key players, there will be even more opportunities for players to prove themselves.
I thought this was worth discussing given the stark comparison I had in watching the A’s against the Angels. Do the Angels excite you? There are some players, like Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel, that I enjoy watching, but I’m simply unconvinced by the team. I was surprised to find myself more engaged with the A’s current team than with the Angels. In fact, the A’s actually have a better expected Win/Loss than the Angels.
The Braves find themselves in a much trickier situation than they would have expected entering the season.
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider have missed most of the season. Matt Olson went from 54 home runs to a disconcerting 93 wRC+. And now, Ozzie Albies is out with a wrist injury.
The Braves aren’t in danger of missing the playoffs right now. They have a four-game lead in the first Wild Card spot and the best run differential of any of the grouping of middling NL contenders. Matt Olson will likely be fine. But there’s a lack of conviction that the Braves are the clear favorites they might have been entering the season.
Although there might be reasonable concerns around the Braves, I wanted to mention one specific player that I think could help the Braves maintain their pace for the top Wild Card spot- Spencer Schwellenbach.
Schwellenbach, the Braves’ #2 prospect, according to FanGraphs, has a fascinating arsenal and compelling strikeout potential. He’s already providing length for Atlanta, pitching at least six innings in five of his last seven starts.
His recent form has been volatile, which should be expected for a rookie. But he’s only allowed more than four runs in one of his nine starts. He hasn’t been giving away games in major blowouts, and even his rough starts are close to dominant.
Last night’s showcase against the St. Louis Cardinals was the perfect example. He gave up four runs across six innings, with three solo home runs putting a damper on his afternoon.
Despite the long ball, he racked up eight strikeouts. If Schwellenbach reins in the home run issue, he’s not far from being another fantastic option in the Braves’ rotation.
The home runs he surrendered weren’t awful pitches.
He gave up a home run to Paul Goldschmidt on a fastball that was several inches above the zone.
His homer to Alec Burleson was an inside fastball that caught the edge of the zone, allowing Burleson to pull it for a 435-foot monster mash.
As you can see here, the inside edge is not a place you want to pitch to Burleson. Schwellenbach was a few inches away from jamming Burleson inside, but instead surrendered that home run.
And his final home run, a Lars Nootbaar Noot-bomb (that’s a phrase my momma and I have coined, I’m not sure if it’s completely original, but we love it). A slider was dipping down and in on Nootbaar, but still hung in the air to catch the bottom of the zone.
They weren’t atrocious pitches, just a few inches away from being well placed. I don’t think it’s unfair to say he will still be a fine pitcher for them this year, even with some rookie bumps along the way. As a sign of his potential, despite giving up four runs last night, he tallied 21 swing-and-misses!
That’s part of his wildly tantalizing 98th percentile chase rate and high velo profile. Not only does he get whiffs, he’s hardly walked any batters while posting a 90th percentile barrel rate.
There’s a lot to like here for Schwellenbach.
Fan of the A's in my childhood. They shall always hold a nostalgic place in me.