The hottest position competition for the Oakland A’s this spring is at second base, which is where one of their hottest hitters happens to play his defense.
Jemile Weeks has had an up-and-down career, having been called up from the minors in 2011, being deemed untouchable in trades that offseason and then being sent back to the minors in 2012.
With the A’s trading Cliff Pennington and losing Stephen Drew in free agency, Weeks has gotten his chance to climb back to the top.
Weeks has missed some time with an injury this spring, but before getting hurt he was off to a hot start, hitting .545 with a home run in 11 at-bats.
Weeks has given a small sample size, and it is only spring training, but it is worth questioning if Weeks has found his 2011 form where hit .303 after being called-up, or if he is just taking advantage of the inferior competition that is the Cactus League.
If Weeks has truly found his 2011 form, then he will be a great fit with the A’s as Bob Melvin’s everyday second baseman. Melvin likes to use platoons, but with Weeks being a switch-hitter there would be no need to divide at-bats based on the opposing pitcher.
Weeks is also a threat to steal whenever he gets on base, which would make him a nice No. 2 hitter behind leadoff man Coco Crisp.
With those two runners on base for the heart of the A’s order (Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss), the A’s will have a recipe for a high-scoring offense.
It is still the Cactus League, and the regular season is still about three weeks away, but it can’t hurt to dream of how much better the A’s could be if Weeks can continue his hot spring when he returns from injury and carry that success over to the regular season.
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