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Trevor Cahill, age 23, has exceeded all expectations in the early going of the 2011 MLB season. 

Cahill was 18-8 last season with a 2.97 ERA. He had a 118:63 strikeout to walk ratio. 

Cahill has now started off the 2011 season with a 6-0 record, which is tied for best in the American League. His ERA is a very low 1.72, which is best in the American League. 

His strikeout to walk ratio this season is 45:16. He has a WHIP of 1.09 as well. 

Two other pitchers in the AL have six wins also. Jered Weaver came out the gates on fire winning his first six starts. Since that hot start, Weaver has lost his last two starts. 

Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer has matched Cahill’s 6-0 start. Scherzer has nearly double the ERA of Cahill though, at 3.60.

There are plenty of great pitchers in the AL like David Price, C.C. Sabathia, and last year’s AL Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez. Winning the 2011 AL Cy Young will not be easy.

The only thing that will hurt Cahill in the long going is the fact that the A’s offense is less than stellar. The A’s have scored a total of 129 runs this season, which is 27th worst. 

Cahill pitches in the pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum, which bodes well for Cahill. 

If Cahill continues on with his hot start, he will easily be leading the AL Cy Young talks when the season is over. 

A’s fans have had to sit and watch as Tim Lincecum has won two Cy Young awards across the bay in the last few years. This may finally be the year that the A’s get to celebrate a Cy Young of their own— the last was Barry Zito in 2002. 

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According to multiple sources, the A’s and opening day starter Trevor Cahill have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension.

The deal has not yet been completed and no announcement is expected until tomorrow at the earliest. Financial details and length of the extension are yet to be released. Cahill was the A’s opening day starter and has posted a 1-0 record with a 1.42 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings so far this season. Last season he was an All-Star and Cy Young contender with an 18-8 record and 2.97 ERA in 30 appearances, all starts.

His deal signals a trend in the A’s organization after signing Brett Anderson and Kurt Suzuki similar to extensions over the last few season. Anderson signed a four year 12.5 million dollar contract last April while offering Kurt Suzuki four years and $16.25 million in July.

It appears Gio Gonzalez would be the next player in line to receive a long term extension with hopes of buying out remaining arbitration years.

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The A’s seem to be everyone’s “sleeper” team this upcoming season, and rightfully so.

The foursome of Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden is the most underrated in baseball.  To go along with a strong bullpen, the pitching aspect is set.

The big story is the offense.  Will they be able to score enough runs to win games?

Throughout this article, you will see a number between 7-10 beside each player.  These numbers break the players up into essential categories; here’s a rough layout. 

10: Best player/pitcher in baseball

9-plus: Superstar, MVP/Cy Young Candidates

8-plus: Consistent All-Star

7.5: Periodical All-Star

7.25: Solid Starter

7: Average Player

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This article will identify the 10 best late-round fantasy draft steals.

When I identify these players, I will make reference to the draft I participated in with Yahoo! in terms of when these players were drafted.  I will also examine where Yahoo! has ranked said players overall and how that affects where they are taken in the draft.  I will also examine why these players would pay huge dividends for any fantasy team.

However, you should note that I am not trying to find you the next Jose Bautista, I am merely giving you elite players that you can wait until later to grab in the draft and be considered a genius.  So, without further ado…Let us begin!

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Weeks of speculation have finally come to an end.

The rotation shuffling that saw the A’s top four starters all in the running to make the opening night start over the past two weeks finally concluded when manager Bob Geren named Trevor Cahill his opening day starter this morning.

Just last season, Cahill battled through spring for the fifth and final spot in the rotation before he finally found himself starting the season in Sacramento on a rehab assignment.

Following his call-up Cahill was the A’s most consistent starter, earning himself an All Star selection and a ninth-place finish in Cy Young voting.

Cahill will face reigning Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners on Friday, April 1, in his first career opening-day start.

Bob Geren kept his decision a secret all spring, although he apparently had made the decision during the offseason that Cahill was his guy on opening night.

“Trevor was, in my mind, going to start Opening Day, if everything went well physically, for the entire offseason,” Geren told MLB.com’s Jane Lee.

“I liked what he did last year. I liked his demeanor on the mound. The mental side of the game that he takes out there each time makes him ideal to start any game of the year. If there’s a little extra hoopla and flyovers and fireworks on opening night, he’s the perfect guy to handle that.”

While Cahill was the most likely choice for the No. 1 role following his 18-8 season last year (2.97 ERA), the A’s had several candidates capable of filling the role in 2011.

Brett Anderson has long been considered the eventual ace of the A’s staff; Gio Gonzalez has had an incredible spring and is looking to build on his breakout 2010 performance; and Dallas Braden is the most experienced veteran on the staff and boasts last year’s perfect game.

But Cahill was the most consistent Athletics pitcher in 2010, and based on those contributions, he earns the honor of starting in front of a packed Oakland Coliseum on April 1.

“He was obviously honored and happy to get that nod, but I also told him that all of our pitchers are very good,” Geren went on to tell Lee.

“They’re all similar as far as age and experience, so I told him to not take it as any added pressure whatsoever. Take it as a compliment, but don’t do anything different than if you were pitching the second game or the third or fourth. Just be yourself, and he completely understood and agreed with that.”

Cahill understands the added pressure and plans to approach the game as if it were just another start.

“I think the goal is just to take it as any other start,” Cahill told MLB.com.

“I think, regardless, your first start of the season, everyone is going to have a little bit of adrenaline, so I just need to make sure that’s in check.”

As a sign of maturity beyond his young age, Cahill also managed to take the news and stay grounded.

“There are a bunch of guys to choose from. Everyone had a good year, so I think it’s about lining things up. I know [Geren] feels confident in winning with whoever he puts out there, so I don’t think it’s a huge deal, just an honor more than anything.”

Along with Cahill, the rest of the A’s rotation combined for a Major League best 3.47 ERA in 2010.

Offseason acquisitions to strengthen the lineup should help provide additional run support for the A’s starters in 2011, as they look to improve on their 81-81 record and reach the postseason for the first time since 2006.

Brandon McClintock covers The Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball for BleacherReport.com. You can follow him on twitter  @BMcClintock_BR

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In 2010, the Oakland Athletics took strides in the right direction, posting an 81-81 record to snap a streak of three consecutive losing seasons.  Though Oakland’s pitching kept them competitive, lack of offensive production counteracted a solid rotation and kept the A’s out of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

Though the A’s have potential to continue their progression, the American League West is a competitive division, highlighted by the recent resurgence of the Texas Rangers.  But with perennial powerhouses crowding the AL East, the A’s only route to the postseason may be a division crown.  If Oakland can focus on these 10 things, there may be a World Series parade in Northern California for the second consecutive year, only this time for the A’s.

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Pitching wins championships.

It’s not overly complicated: if you have a great starting rotation, you’re going to win some ball games. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, or a Philadelphia Phillies fan if you’ve got the time.

Every offseason teams try to bring in talented arms. Sometimes those arms are found through free agency, while other times it comes from a hot prospect or even taking a chance on an aging veteran.

For many teams, their seasons hinge on the performance of their starting rotation.

That said, let’s take a look at who will be the best starting pitchers in the AL on their respective teams in 2011.

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Most pitching coaches and baseball aficionados would agree that it takes a few years for a starting pitcher to learn what it takes to be a successful big league pitcher. As Tom Glavine explained to John Feinstein in Living on the Black, “Young pitchers know how to throw hard, but very few know how to pitch”.

When looking for a young pitcher to target late in fantasy drafts, owners should identify players who have yet to produce top level fantasy stats despite having gifted arms and a collection of filthy pitches. 

Take for example Clayton Kershaw, a 23-year-old southpaw for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first year in the majors, Kershaw was 5-5 with a 4.26 ERA and a WHIP of 1.49. Although he had excellent stuff, including a mid 90’s fastball and a knee-buckling curve, Kershaw was young and needed to learn how to pitch, and not just throw hard. 

In his third year with the Dodgers, Kershaw struck out 212 batters while posting a sub-three ERA. After taking the typical few years to learn how to be a pitcher, Kershaw is now the team’s top pitcher and is poised for a CY Young caliber season. 

Here is a list of 10 young pitchers who are poised to have a breakout season. Some of these pitchers may still be a year or two away from learning their craft; however, all of them have excellent skills and could become stars in 2011.

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Since the A’s last made the playoffs they’ve had successive win totals of 76, 75, 75 and 81, and thus been stuck in mediocrity.  But there is reason for optimism this year, thanks mostly to a young pitching staff that took a huge step forward last year.  

Billy Beane has a wonderful eye for pitching talent, unfortunately for A’s fans, his eye for positional talent is just as spectacularly bad. In 2010, the Oakland starters led the league in quality starts, ERA and finished second in Batting Average Against (BAA), but only 24th in strikeouts. 

These overall stats reflect the nature of the starting staff; all quality pitchers who need a true strikeout pitch to reach elite fantasy status.  The top-three in the rotation (Cahill, Anderson, Gonzalez) will probably fall in the 20-40 draft pick range for fantasy pitchers.  

The clear No. 1 after last year’s breakout season is Trevor Cahill (18-8; sub-three era; 21 quality starts).  He was dominant for long stretches last year; at one point he had a 20-game streak where he pitched at least five innings and gave up six hits or fewer, tying Nolan Ryan’s modern day record. 

In contrast to Nolan Ryan, Cahill’s glaring weakness is his inability to get the swing and miss—in nearly 200 innings last year he only had 118 strikeouts.  Obviously, this is a negative for fantasy purposes as you lose strikeout points, but stating the obvious, when the ball is in play bad things can happen to a pitcher’s stats.  

Cahill will start the year at only 23 years old, so he has a chance to continue to improve and develop a strikeout pitch and if that happens you are looking at a top-10 pitcher. 

Brett Anderson pitched very well when healthy last year (7-6; 2.80 era; 13/19 quality starts).  Despite nice strikeout numbers during his rookie year, last year was a bit of a disappointment in that area.  Part of that could be blamed on arm troubles, which might’ve affected his swing-and-miss-ability.  If he stays healthy and reverts back to his rookie year strikeout ratio, he could finish the season as the No. 1 fantasy pitcher on this team.

Perhaps the most enticing talent on the team is Gio Gonzalez.  A formerly erratic pitcher with all the tools, he seemed to figure things out last year.  What makes him especially enticing on this roster is his ability to strikeout opponents. 

This slight dip in strikeouts from the previous season was worth it as he increased his wins, gave up less walks, less hits and had a lower ERA.  The tricky thing, when someone makes such a big leap is that you have to be careful of a slight regression. 

Still, he’s a player with No. 2 potential who could be overlooked in a lot of drafts with definite sleeper potential.

It speaks volumes about the A’s staff that Dallas Braden (of the A-Rod spat and perfect game) is the fourth starter.  Last year he finished sixth in the American League in WHIP and 13th in ERA.

Throw in his perfect game and he has the ability to completely shut down the opponent, but like the rest of the A’s his lack of strikeouts hurts his value.  Plus, you have to reserve a special spot in your heart for a guy that calls out the highest paid player in baseball.

Continue Reading >>>

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It hurts me to write this, but it must be done. Don’t buy into the hype surrounding Trevor Cahill, his 18-8 record or his 2.97 ERA last season. I really like Cahill. He doesn’t walk a lot of batters (2.88 BB/9) and he pitches in a spacious ballpark, but it’s almost impossible for him to approach his numbers from last season.

For starters, his BABIP last year was .238. Typically, we expect the average BABIP to be around .300, but pitchers that allow low line drive and fly ball rates tend to have lower BABIPs anyway. Using an equation posted by Fangraphs, we see that Cahill’s expected BABIP based on his line drive, fly ball and ground ball rates last year was .287. That 49-point difference is enormous and explains the gap between his ERA and FIP (4.19). Do you really want to pay for an 18-win pitcher on a bad offensive team who was one of a handful of extremely lucky pitchers the year before and doesn’t strike out that many batters? No.

According to Mock Draft Central, Cahill’s current ADP is 88, putting him in front of guys like John Danks, Matt Garza, Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Colby Lewis and Shaun Marcum, all of whom I have ranked ahead of Cahill. In fact, Cahill was my 48th ranked starting pitcher, and the team at Baseball Professor collectively ranked him 41st in our 2011 fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings.

2011 Fantasy Projection

14-11 | 3.70 ERA | 1.25 WHIP | 137 K | 205 IP | 6.0 K/9

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For more fantasy baseball content, check out our 2011 fantasy rankings:

Top 30 Catchers

Top 30 First Basemen

Top 30 Second Basemen

Top 30 Third Basemen

Top 30 Shortstops 

Top 60 Outfielders

Top 60 Starting Pitchers

Top 30 Relief Pitchers

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