Kuzul

Much of the Oakland Athletics‘ success this season has stemmed from manager Bob Melvin’s implementation of platoons in the field. Quality players like catchers John Jaso and Derek Norris split time based on the opposing pitcher’s throwing arm.

Jaso would hit against righties, Norris would hit against lefties, and everyone’s knees stayed well-rested. That worked until Stephen Vogt was called up from Triple-A Sacramento and proceeded to mash the stitches off the ball, forcing Melvin to keep him in the lineup, though often away from his natural position.

An overflow of talent is certainly not a bad thing, especially considering the physical demands that tax everyday catchers and can diminish their offensive production. But there are only so many innings to share among Vogt‘s hot bat, Jaso‘s Moneyball skill set and Norris’ impressive all-around game.

John Jaso

94 G, 295 AB, 41 R, 8 HR, 38 RBI, .264 BA/.340 OBP/.424 SLG

When the baseball gods craft a low-budget No. 2 hitter in the future, they can use Jaso as the prototype. Blessed with a keen hitter’s eye, solid gap power and above-average baserunning skills, Jaso is general manager Billy Beane’s kind of player.

Jaso missed half of last season with lingering effects from a concussion on July 24, 2013, and his 34 games as the A’s designated hitter this year are more than any other player on the roster. His offensive numbers are good for a catcher but seem average when compared to other DHs.

Oddly enough, Jaso hits much better when playing catcher than DH-ing despite the extra workload associated with playing in the field. He’s batting .296 as a catcher and .226 as a DH since he began splitting time between the positions in 2012.

DH-ing Norris or Vogt would make sense if Jaso were a better defensive catcher, but his limited skills behind the plate argue otherwise. He’s thrown out just four of 35 potential base stealers this year and has cost the A’s four more runs defensively than a league-average catcher, according to FanGraphs. In fact, Jaso‘s fielding and positional adjustment combined value ranks dead last among catchers with 160 plate appearances or more in 2014.

Derek Norris

92 G, 269 AB, 35 R, 10 HR, 47 RBI, .286 BA/.379 OBP/.457 SLG

There’s a reason Norris caught A’s closer Sean Doolittle in the 2014 All-Star game. He has elevated his game to become one of the league’s best receivers this year despite splitting time behind the plate.

After a rough offensive start to his career, Norris has blossomed in his third season with Oakland. His .834 OPS is the best on the team among players with at least 200 at bats, and he has stepped in as the cleanup hitter against left-handed pitchers after Yoenis Cespedes was traded.

Some of the success for Norris’ career-best slash line can be traced to his diminishing strikeout percentage, which has tumbled from 28.4 percent in 2012 to 17.9 percent in 2014.

Like Jaso, Norris doesn’t throw out many guys on the bases (seven of 47 runners this year). But his offense is good enough to earn a cumulative 2.6 WAR, third among American League catchers.

Norris came over as a prospect in the Gio Gonzalez trade back in 2011 alongside pitchers Brad Peacock, Tom Milone and A.J. Cole. Coincidentally, Cole was later traded back to the Washington Nationals in the deal that brought Jaso to the A’s.

Stephen Vogt

57 G, 194 AB, 21 R, 7 HR, 29 RBI, .325 BA/.356 OBP/.495 SLG

Calling Vogt a catcher is getting to be a bit of a stretch, since he has mainly played first base and right field after being called up at the beginning of June. That’s a testament to his versatility and the established veterans already behind the plate, not a reflection of Vogt‘s defensive skills.

Though he has logged just 85.1 innings behind the plate this year, Vogt has thrown out just one fewer baserunner than Jaso on the year, with no stolen bases against him so far. Vogt also threw out 31 percent of base stealers in a more permanent role behind the plate in 2013.

Vogt was one of the hottest hitters in the majors for about 40 games after being called up, peaking with a .376/.407/.564 line on July 11. He’s regressed somewhat since his out-of-this-world start, but his 1.7 WAR is higher than Jaso‘s despite having spent two months in the minors.

The one drawback to Vogt‘s offensive production, other than being a typical slow-footed catcher, is he doesn’t work pitchers like many other Athletics, including Norris and Jaso. His batting average is on par with hitters like Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre (again, in a small sample size), but his on-base percentage is more along the lines of Christian Yelich and Denard Span.

Verdict

The current platoon is working out well for the A’s, so there’s no reason to bat Norris more against right-handers or Jaso and Vogt against southpaws. All three have harsh righty-lefty splits and are best suited in their current roles.

Norris has emerged as a legitimate star this year, while Jaso is a solid role player but just that. Vogt is probably most valuable as a utility bat who can slide behind the plate as a late-game defensive replacement.

All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

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Driving to work is the worst.

Spending hours of your life shoving a vehicle through traffic is tantamount to torture, but not knowing exactly how to get to your destination makes it that much worse.

This is Jon Lester’s daily grind, and he’s using technology to help make his adjustment to life with the Oakland A’s easier.

Lester told The Dan Patrick Show, via NBC on Yahoo Sports (h/t For The Win’s Nate Scott), Thursday that he’s still using the GPS on his smartphone to make his 40-minute commute to O.co Coliseum: “Every day, I do the GPS on my phone, so I don’t get lost.”

Lester also confirmed that he’s renting a home in the area. The A’s acquired Lester from the Boston Red Sox on July 31, trading away prized slugger Yoenis Cespedes to bolster their rotation with the 30-year-old lefty. 

Grantland’s Jonah Keri believes Lester could end up back in Boston after the season: “Lester, a free agent after this season, has already expressed his interest in re-signing with Boston, and will be out of Oakland’s price range regardless. He’s a rental for a team committed to going for broke.”

In any case, I sympathize with Lester’s GPS usage.

I moved to Chicago earlier this summer, and after two months in the city, I’m still all shoulders when drivers ask the best way to a destination. I have no idea. I just want to get to The Hangge-Uppe before 3 a.m., preferably alive.

The new-city struggle is real, Lester. Just keep using the GPS. We’ll figure it out or fall in an open manhole trying.

Follow Dan on Twitter for more sports and pop culture news.

Follow @Dr_Carson_

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The Oakland Athletics have had the American League‘s best record for virtually the entire season, but any A’s fan knows in-season success doesn’t guarantee playoff wins. Winning in October takes a deep roster, a couple of top-level players and a whole lot of luck.

After consecutive Game 5 losses to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series, the A’s have gone all-in to win this year, trading for starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija, Jon Lester and Jason Hammel.

Building a starting rotation of four aces didn’t come cheap, as general manager Billy Beane dealt top prospect Addison Russell and left fielder Yoenis Cespedes. To deliver on Beane’s gambles and win the pennant for the first time since 1990, the A’s need to continue their overall dominance, get past the one team they can’t beat and hope for success in the few games that matter most.

Big Bats Must Stay Hot

The A’s have one of the league’s top offenses even without Cespedes, but some of the heavy hitters can be streaky. With a maximum of five games in the ALDS and seven in the ALCS, postseason success is entirely dependent on who gets hot at the right time.

Much of the responsibility will fall on third baseman Josh Donaldson, who hit a dismal .181/.223/.286 in June. With Cespedes out of the lineup, Oakland needs Donaldson to post something more like the .318/.426/.614 line he’s had since the All-Star break.

Right fielder Josh Reddick has been riddled with injuries since his breakout 2012 campaign, but he has two home runs and four doubles in nine games since coming off of the disabled list. If Reddick can permanently regain his 2012 form, he would be a quality replacement for Cespedes in the middle of the order.

Beat the Tigers

The A’s and the Tigers engaged in a beautiful arms race this summer, each team striving to push ahead as the best team in the AL. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski countered Beane’s moves by trading for Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price, giving the Tigers three former Cy Young winners in the rotation.

The Tigers’ dominance over the A’s extends to the regular season as well. Oakland has done well against other contenders like the Angels (6-3) and the Baltimore Orioles (4-2) this year, but is 2-5 against Detroit.

At some point or another, the A’s are likely to run into the Tigers in the playoffs. In a series of Jon Lester vs. Max Scherzer, Jeff Samardzija vs. David Price, Scott Kazmir vs. Anibal Sanchez and Sonny Gray vs. Justin Verlander, the A’s might finally have the upper hand on pitching.

Pitching dominance will be key in getting past sluggers Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez and Torii Hunter. The road to the World Series will run through Motor City this year.

Keep on Keepin’ On

To misquote Bill Hader’s “Stefon” character from Saturday Night Live: This team has everything. Hitting, pitching, defense, a scruffy man slamming the door in the ninth inning and Halftain America (it’s that thing where Captain America plays against left-handing pitching).

With the exception of second base, the A’s roster has no real holes. The offense has scored more runs than any other team in baseball, while the pitchers are holding opponents to a .232 batting average. The result is a plus-162-run differential, nearly double the Angels’ second-best plus-90-run differential.

This is the most complete team in the majors, and seven All-Stars give the A’s the kind of star power they lacked in the past. Beane’s constant tinkering and smart pickups have put the A’s in the driver’s seat. It won’t be easy, but the American League—and the World Series, for that matter—is Oakland’s to lose.

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Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane is tired of his team being “one-and-done” in the playoffs.

The A’s have been to the postseason seven times during Beane’s 17-year tenure, but they reached the American League Championship Series just once. More recently, the A’s have won the American League West in each of the last two seasons only to lose to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series.

This year, however, Oakland officially is “all-in.” And based on Beane‘s aggressive trades over the last month, he surely will be disappointed if the A’s season concludes with anything less than a World Series title.

Beane bookended the month of July with blockbuster trades for a pair of front-line starting pitchers, acquiring Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs on July 5 and then Jon Lester (and Jonny Gomes) from the Boston Red Sox hours before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

However, the A’s were forced to part with big pieces of the future in both trades.

To land Samardzija and Hammel, Beane traded a pair of highly touted prospects in shortstop Addison Russell and outfielder Billy McKinney, the team’s respective first-round draft picks from 2012 and 2013, as well as right-hander Dan Straily. Meanwhile, the opportunity to acquire both Lester and Gomes pushed Beane to trade All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who previously was viewed as a main cog in the A’s future success.

Yet, for Beane, that was a small price to pay for a chance to win a World Series in 2014.

“We have a team that can win right now,” Beane said earlier this month, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “Just collecting young players is not something in our marketplace we can do.”

In general, both trades came as a complete surprise—at least to those outside the organization. Beane has a history of making blockbuster deals, but none of them involved the acquisition of “rental” players such as Lester and Hammel, both of whom will hit the open market after the season. Samardzija is at least under team control through 2015.

However, a closer look at Beane’s recent trade history suggests we should have seen these types of deals coming, as they represent the next logical steps for the A’s in their pursuit of a World Series.

After enduring a five-year playoff drought from 2007 to 2011, the A’s sneaked into the postseason in 2012 with a dramatic sweep of the Texas Rangers in the final series of the regular season. That taste of success—as well as the subsequent anguish of losing to the Tigers in a hard-fought ALDS—convinced Beane that he had a special team on his hands, a team with considerable room left to improve.

However, instead of targeting pricey free agents during the offseason, Beane capitalized on a leaguewide overvaluation of prospects and used the organization’s farm system to secure major league assets.

In fact, he went so far as to trade away a majority of the organization’s top-ranked prospects (as determined by Baseball America at the time of the trades), choosing to play the odds and not to buy into his young players’ long-term potential in the major leagues.

It goes without saying that the A’s would not be chasing their third consecutive AL West title this season if not for the returns in those trades.

R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) explored Beane’s approach to prospects back in May:

The timing also provides a good spot to acknowledge an obvious truth: prospects can see their stock change in a hurry. The A’s had enough firsthand experience with the traded prospects by this point to determine whether they were overvalued by other teams; self-evaluation, such an underrated skill for front offices to possess, might have spurred the moves.

But no one can say for sure, and there are other potential explanations: maybe Beane (correctly) foresaw the AL West being more open than anyone anticipated, or maybe this was just an extension of the A’s longstanding strategy to push for the postseason.

And that brings us to Cespedes.

With the sixth-lowest payroll among all 30 teams (as of Opening Day) and a farm system that now ranks 28th overall after losing Russell and McKinney, the 2014 season will likely be the A’s last chance at winning a World Series for the next three to five years.

In previous years, Beane would have traded a young pitcher or two from depth in exchange for prospects, which then could be used to acquire a more established arm. However, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin’s respective elbow injuries early in the spring made that impossible. Therefore, Cespedes represented Beane’s best chance at landing an ace before the deadline.

The 28-year-old outfielder, who’s in the third year of a four-year, $36 million contract, will become a free agent after the 2015 season, and by then he’ll be well out of Oakland’s spending range given the perpetual market for right-handed power.

Plus, as Anderson posited in regard to prospects, the team’s firsthand experience with Cespedes over the last two-and-half seasons surely played a key role in Beane’s decision to trade him Thursday.

On paper, Cespedes has come nowhere close to matching his 2012 production as a rookie, when he batted .292/.356/.505 with 23 home runs, good for a 137 wRC+ and 2.9 fWAR, via FanGraphs. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see him eclipsing a 3.0 WAR if he hasn’t already. Cespedes’ only redeeming quality is his .208 career ISO, but beyond that, his production has tapered off across the board.

For Beane, the philosophy behind trading Cespedes at the deadline for a two-plus-month rental of Lester wasn’t any different than his philosophy behind dealing Russell and McKinney for Samardzija; all-in means all-in.

With the A’s window of opportunity closing quickly, Beane jumped at the chance to turn his team into a legitimate World Series contender, knowing that the organization wouldn’t be any worse off moving forward regardless of how the 2014 season unfolded.

Obviously, any number of things could transpire between now and the end of the regular season, but there’s no question that Beane’s blockbuster trades in July have the A’s primed for a deep run into the postseason.

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After taking two of three against the Baltimore Orioles to open up the second half of the season, the Oakland Athletics host a three-game set against the Houston Astros, starting Tuesday. Houston visits the American League West leaders a mere 20.5 games back—however, the Astros proudly only sport the league’s second-worst record (41-58).

The A’s deserve some much-needed face time against the bottom-feeders, particularly after three consecutive series against teams (the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles) that would be headed to the playoffs, were the season to end today. Oakland has not played a team with a non-winning record since June 29, when the A’s faced the Miami Marlins. In fact, the Athletics have faced the fewest sub-.500 opponents in all of the American League and sport a 25-12 record against teams with losing records. Oakland is thirsting for a few gimmes.

It would appear that the two-time division champs will be welcoming an easy go of it against the Astros. After all, Oakland thoroughly dominated Houston last season, going 15-4 versus their new division rivals, winning each of the first 10 matchups. Will the Athletics have an easy go of it against the perennially moribund Astros?

This season, the Astros are seemingly over-performing, already winning two out of seven games they have played against the A’s so far.

Surely, Houston has proved that it has improved—even just a little bit. The Astros roster is a smidge different than it was earlier this season. By adding a couple upcoming youngsters, the Astros seem to be at least watchable, if only somewhat.

Here are five things to look for in the Athletics’ upcoming series versus Houston.

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When handicapping baseball, most bettors start the process with starting pitching.

A great starting pitcher can completely take over a game and leave opposing offenses stymied. While a pitcher can do his part on the mound to hold back the opposing team’s offense, there isn’t much that he can do to get his own team’s offense going.

For this reason, bettors must factor run support into their decision-making process. There are plenty of great pitchers who don’t make great bets because they consistently fail to get much run support.

In many cases, these pitchers play for teams that don’t produce much offense for any of their pitchers. In other cases, it is just a case of bad luck.

Jeff Samardzija was the poster boy of good pitchers who made for losing trips to the sportsbook window when playing for the Chicago Cubs earlier this season. Samardzija pitched like an ace through 17 starts with the Cubs, accumulating a 2.83 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP while striking out 103 batters in 108 innings.

But due to a dismal 2.41 runs per game on offense in Samardzija‘s starts, the Cubs were 3-14 on the MLB moneyline. Since being traded to the A’s, Samardzija‘s run support is up to 3.67 runs per game and his record on the moneyline is 2-1.

The San Diego Padres own the worst offense in baseball by a considerable margin, scoring only 2.98 runs per game. As a result, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that two of their best pitchers see many of their strong efforts wasted due to poor run support.

Ian Kennedy has 137 strikeouts in 129.1 innings pitched with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, but the Padres score only 2.86 runs per game in his starts and are 9-12 on the moneyline. Tyson Ross has been even better with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, but the Padres have a 9-12 record in his 21 starts as well.

Atlanta’s Alex Wood has a tidy 3.07 ERA in his 11 games as a starter this season, but with only 2.45 runs per game of support, the Braves are 4-7 on the moneyline in those 11 starts. For Julio Teheran, the Braves score 3.5 runs per game, and that extra run of support has translated to a 13-7 record on the moneyline.

Kansas City‘s Danny Duffy may be one of the league’s unluckiest pitchers. Duffy is enjoying a career year with a sparkling 2.66 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. But despite playing for a team that averages 4.04 runs per game, Duffy has received only 2.86 runs per game in his 14 starts, resulting in a 5-9 moneyline record over that stretch.

Don’t be too quick to get money down on aces Andrew Cashner (2.36 ERA) and Michael Wacha (2.79 ERA) when they return from the disabled list. San Diego is 6-6 in Cashner‘s 12 starts, giving him a meager 2.17 runs per game of support. St. Louis scores only 3.0 runs per game for Wacha and is 6-9 in games he started.

Check out updated MLB probable pitchers and run support pages, courtesy of Odds Shark.

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It has become redundant to say, but the Oakland A’s made the biggest assault on a possible 2014 World Series title when they added Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to their already-dominant pitching staff on the Fourth of July.

With the trade deadline just over two weeks away, it may be easy to assume that the A’s will now stay quiet and not make any more splashy moves. The team is already saturated with talent and without their two top prospects, Addison Russell and Billy McKinney, as trade bait.

But here is a scary thought if you are the rest of Major League Baseball: Not only did the A’s land two of the most coveted free-agent pitchers and become immediate World Series favorites, but now with a surplus of young, talented arms, they are primed to be buyers at the trade deadline to address their limitations at second base.

It was not headline news, but when the A’s acquired Samardzija and Hammel from the Cubs, Tommy Milone was demoted to Triple-A. Also, recovered from a broken hand, Drew Pomeranz was activated from the disabled list Sunday and then promptly sent down as well. There simply is not room in the rotation.

With wins in his last six decisions and a 3.55 ERA that was on the decline before being sent down, Milone would not be in the minor leagues for many other ballclubs. Pomeranz sports a 2.91 ERA over 55.2 innings pitched this season. He, too, deserves to be in the big leagues. Furthermore, A.J. Griffin (3.60 career ERA in two seasons with Oakland) and Jarrod Parker (a former ninth overall pick and the owner of a 3.73 ERA in two years with the A’s) will both return from Tommy John surgery next year.

Thus, thanks to the Samardzija-Hammel acquisition, the A’s now have a surplus of young, talented starting pitching. With four pitchers (Milone, Pomeranz, Griffin and Parker) all without jobs, or five pitchers (now including Jesse Chavez, who was formerly a relief pitcher) vying for one spot in the starting rotation, the A’s are clearly an attractive target to many teams.

Yet while the A’s may have the pieces to make another deal at the trade deadline, it is obvious that they do not have many glaring issues.

The three-headed monster of Dan Otero, Luke Gregerson and Sean Doolittle has erased any semblance of a concern in the bullpen. Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Yoenis Cespedes and Coco Crisp are everyday staples at their respective positions. And the first base and catcher positions have turned into the three-way platoon of Derek Norris (.294 BA), Stephen Vogt (.358 BA) and John Jaso (.274 BA). Do not ask how it is working, but it clearly is.

Middle infield for the A’s, however, has been a different story.

Granted, Jew Lowrie has done an admirable job at shortstop. In 90 games (82 starts), he has posted a .234 batting average and driven in 34 runs.

Second base is where the bulk of the worry lies, and it has only escalated since utility man Alberto Callaspo was placed on the disabled list after straining his right hamstring, as John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News reports. 

Switch-hitting Nick Punto (160 at-bats) and left-handed-hitting Eric Sogard (156 at-bats) currently share time at second base and have struggled immensely. The two have combined for a total of one home run, a .202 batting average, a .259 slugging percentage and 16 RBI while manning second base—all position lows for the A’s. Their .273 on-base percentage and meager 25 walks (also both position lows) presumably make for an irate Billy Beane.

The A’s continue to be heavily dependent on Lowrie to carry the weight of the middle infield. An injury to the seven-year shortstop would be catastrophic, as a Punto-Sogard middle infield would be about as offensively inept as they come.

There are a number of potential solutions for the A’s and their middle infield concerns.

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy are both subject to being shipped elsewhere in the coming weeks. The two are the best-hitting second basemen on the market, but the chances the A’s acquire either is slim, given the fact that Utley does not want to leave Philadelphia in the first place (as Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News reports), and the Mets are asking for a hefty amount of minor league offensive talent in return for Murphy.

Luis Valbuena of the Chicago Cubs has also drawn interest from the A’s, but the Cubs are reluctant to deal him, as Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal states. However, with prospect Arismendy Alcantara making a case for himself as their everyday second baseman (9-for-23 with a home run, five RBI and a stolen base in his first five big league games), Valbuena may be on his way out.

Perhaps the best fit and most realistic acquisition for the A’s is Tampa Bay Rays do-everything-man Ben Zobrist. Slashing .266/.401/.754 with a .352 on-base percentage and five multihit games in his last nine contests, Zobrist would provide a noticeable and immediate boost offensively. His ability to play second base, shortstop and either corner outfield position makes him an even more intriguing option for the A’s.

Karl Buscheck, the A’s Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, views Zobrist being traded to the A’s as an ideal situation for both teams, as the Rays are likely to be looking for young pitching at the deadline. Tommy Milone, Drew Pomeranz, Jarrod Parker or A.J. Griffin would all be at their disposal.

Combine this perfect match that addresses the needs of both teams with the parting words of general manager Beane in an interview with Jim Bowden of ESPN (h/t MLB Trade Rumors) and it is clear the A’s will not be complacent with their league-leading 59-36 record:

Well, you know, there’s a lot of time left, Jim. Whether you have needs or not, you have to take advantage of the environment. This is a time that everybody comes to the table. And whether you’re actively pursuing something specific, you want to be a part of the conversation. I don’t want to say we’re done. The short answer is: I hope we’re active still.

Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Not that the Oakland Athletics needed more good vibes in 2014, ending the first half with the best record in Major League Baseball and acquiring Jeff Samardzija before the All-Star break, but Yoenis Cespedes‘ performance in the Home Run Derby signals another dynamic shift in their season.

The A’s slugger started off slow during Monday’s event, with just three homers in the first round.

He then got stronger as the night went on by hitting 16 homers over the next two rounds before clubbing nine in the final round to beat Todd Frazier, who could muster just one in the finals.

Cespedes also had fun with the event, taking to Twitter to tell his competitors that the crown wasn’t going to be taken away easily:

In many ways, Cespedes‘ Derby performance was the perfect metaphor for what awaits this season. The slow start is indicative of what happened to the 28-year-old in the first three months this year, posting a .246/.299/.442 slash line.

Now, though, with the big basher finding his groove under the spotlight at the All-Star festivities, the A’s have no reason to expect anything less than a stellar showing once the real games resume on Friday.

In fact, if you look at Cespedes‘ performance in the first half this year compared to last year—when he won his first Derby title—the similarities are striking:

The difference is Cespedes missed time last year with a hand injury, so the slow start was easy to justify. This year, it just so happens that the Cuban star hasn’t found a groove in the box. He’s been all over the map, with FanGraphs indicating that his OPS (on-base plus slugging) totals were over .830 in April and June but under .770 in May and July.

Even though injuries continued to plague Cespedes in the second half last year, he still managed to slug .473 with 11 home runs in 56 games, leading Oakland to its second consecutive playoff berth.

With no health problems slowing him down this year, Cespedes is ready to attack the second half like he started the season.

The myth of the Home Run Derby is that it can ruin a player’s swing, but someone like Cespedes can benefit from getting into that groove. He’s never been a patient hitter who will sit back on a pitch, so attacking the ball is nothing new to him.

When you swing as much as Cespedes does, finding the right groove is critical to succeeding.

The A’s aren’t hurting for offense, ranking second in runs scored, but if the big bat in the middle of the order comes through, imagine how difficult this team will be to defeat in the second half.

If you want to talk sports, hit me up on Twitter @adamwells1985.

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Four days ago, the Oakland A’s threw all their chips into a 2014 World Series title run when they acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs. The A’s paid a hefty price to reel in two of the most prized free-agent arms. Shortstop Addison Russell—the A’s top prospect and the No. 12 overall prospect in the MLB—and outfielder Billy McKinney—the A’s No. 2 prospect—were sent to the Cubs farm system, which is now overflowing with talent.

In the wake of this latest move by the A’s, it seems a bit anticlimactic to utter the word “future” when talking about this ballclub. After all, giving up prized minor-league talent for quick-fixes shows that 2014 is the team’s focus. With the best record in the majors at 56-33, who could blame them?

But with the onset of the 16th annual SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and Stockton Ports (the A’s Single-A affiliate) third baseman Renato Nunez earning a second consecutive selection, it is important to understand that all is not lost for the A’s minor league system.

The 20-year-old Nunez was scorching hot right before he was selected to the World All-Star team and then proceeded to justify his selection by continuing to obliterate Single-A pitching.

Over the past three weeks (a span of 20 games), Nunez has launched 11 home runs and gapped five doubles, culminating in an absurd .408/.489/.908 triple slash line. Nearly every Rotoworld update on him simply states that he had another multi-homerun game or another pedestrian four-hit game. Just past the midway point in his second full season, Nunez has 20 home runs, 57 RBI and a .287 batting average.

Nunez was signed out of Venezuela in 2010 and is currently in the Class A-Advanced California League. With the departure of Russell, Nunez has jumped to the No. 4 prospect in the A’s organization, and if he continues to swing a white-hot bat, he will likely be promoted to the Double-A Texas League in the near future.  

The A’s project Nunez to reach the big leagues by 2016, according to their official scouting report. Though his arm is above average (rated a 55 on a scale of 80), Nunez will likely be converted into a first baseman, since his footwork and hands will eventually become a liability at the hot corner.

Judge for yourself after watching this video.

The A’s organization once worried about Nunez’s patience at the plate, as the 6’1″, 185-pound right-handed hitter has a track record of striking out because of an overly aggressive approach. However, in the span of a year, Nunez has decreased his strikeout rate from 25.0 percent in 2013 to 19.8 percent in 2014 and has increased his walk rate from 5.1 percent in 2013 to 7.4 percent in 2014.

Players from all full-season minor leagues were eligible for an All-Star selection. Nunez was the lone member from the A’s organization who was chosen.

But to reiterate a point, Nunez is the A’s No. 4 prospect.

This means that the organization rates three players better and more advanced than a two-time minor league All-Star, who ranks second in the California League in home runs, ninth in RBI and ninth in slugging percentage.

So when second-guessing the A’s decision to part with their two top prospects in Russell and McKinney in order to maximize their chances at a title run this year, just remember that Renato Nunez and company are blazing a hot trail to O.co Coliseum.

Here is a video of Nunez hitting some bombs in last year’s minor league home run derby to help with that.

Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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The Oakland A’s made fireworks with a blockbuster trade to land both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel on the Fourth of July, according to ESPN insider Keith Law, giving up Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, Dan Straily and a player to be named later.

With it, they made one thing abundantly clear to the rest of baseball: The A’s are going for it all right now, and they are your 2014 World Series favorites.

This team already had MLB’s best record (53-33) and the American League’s best rotation before acquiring a dominant duo from the north side of Chicago. Oakland now has nothing short of an embarrassment of riches.

But let’s be honest—we’ve seen this all before. The A’s have always had arms for days, seemingly cornering the market in young, prized mound artists. What makes this the team that can finally break the playoff failures the franchise has seen during the Billy Beane run?

In a word: offense. Oakland is leading all of baseball with 430 runs scored and has a powerful trio of Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes leading the charge with a combined 51 home runs and 178 runs batted in before the All-Star break.

Throw in 72 more RBI from the remarkable catching trio of Derek Norris, John Jaso and Stephen Vogt, and you have a team that can shut you out and put up crooked numbers all over the scoreboard.

There is one key element of this trade that needs to be discussed, however.

In the deal, the A’s sacrificed one of baseball’s best prospects in Addison Russell, a shortstop soon to be ranked No. 6 in Baseball Prospectus’ next top-50 list (per BP’s own Jason Parks):

Addison Russell will rank #6 overall on the upcoming #BPTop50. That would give the #Cubs the #3, #5, #6, and #18 best prospects in MiLB.

— Jason Parks (@ProfessorParks) July 5, 2014

This would be fine and dandy if Samardzija were a legitimate piece of Oakland’s future. The reality is, the ace pitcher will sprint away from the Bay Area for a $100 million contract in a little more than a year while the A’s sit back and look to execute their next move.

Hammel is a free agent following the 2014 season as well, so this smells very much like a bold rental to push for a World Series title that has suddenly fallen right into their laps.

A feel-good story for one of MLB’s most beloved underdogs has transformed into a Yankees-like championship-or-bust mentality, something this franchise is certainly not used to. A mediocre landscape of teams across the American League should give the A’s confidence, but the overhanging pressure of a bull’s-eye on their backs will be quite the hurdle to overcome.

If 2014’s bright hopes end in failure, Oakland will be just fine. The team will let Hammel walk and replace him with what it hopes is the Jarrod Parker of old—and we have no reason to believe he won’t be, even after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery.

And if all goes to hell, Billy Beane will simply hop on the telephone and trade Samardzija away to replenish the pieces he sacrificed to acquire him in the first place. The Matt Holliday experiment in 2009 provides a clear precedent there. (He was traded to St. Louis for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson after appearing in 93 games with Oakland after signing on as a free agent.)

The benefit of acquiring a coveted pitching asset whose arm has very little mileage on it is that MLB teams will be no less desperate for his services a year from now. Samardzija can be flat-out nasty, and his body type and limited wear and tear should keep him healthy.

The A’s have identified a rare opportunity to break their 25-year title drought, and they just made the deal they had to make to build a proper postseason-ready rotation.

Some will question the forfeiture of such a dynamic prospect for what essentially amounts to a one-year rental, but it’s a rental that makes the difference between contender and clear-cut favorite in the American League, and that’s always a deal worth making.

These are not the A’s of 2002, when a 103-win team was just ninth in MLB in runs scored during the height of the steroid era. This team can mash, and it also has as deep a bullpen as anyone in the sport.

The A’s are making a stand and going for it all in 2014. When you put the pieces together, it looks like they just might succeed.

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