A's are (Almost) Closer to First than Last

After splitting a series with the New York Yankees in the Bronx, the Oakland A's hold a 10-16 record on the season. Last year through 26 games, the team was 5-21. While this may not seem like much, the fact that they went into one of the tougher places to play and came out with a four game series split is a huge step in the right direction for a team that is looking to turn some heads this year.

This was also a series where Mason Miller opened a lot of eyes by shutting down the Yankee lineup to secure each of the A's wins in the series. The 25-year-old right-hander made an appearance on MLB Network, was written about in The Athletic, and struck out six batters of the seven outs he recorded in New York.

Not a bad way to make a name for yourself.

While Miller is getting the publicity because of his blazing fastball that can reach up to 103, the A's bullpen as a whole has been a top-10 unit in all of baseball. Their 3.04 ERA ranks 8th in MLB. Miller's 1.59 ERA leads the way for the group, but right behind him is another right-hander that has been asked to go multiple innings as well this season, Lucas Erceg. The infielder turned reliever holds a 1.69 ERA, and he too can bring the octane in the latter innings.

Austin Adams, whose expected stats were always better than what the stat line has shown in small samples, finally has the numbers to back up how he has performed in the big leagues. Through 12 appearances he has thrown 8 2/3 innings and holds a 2.08 ERA thanks to his slider-heavy approach. His xERA is still a little higher at 3.59, but even that is a solid number for a late-spring trade acquisition for cash.

Kyle Muller (2.60) and Mitch Spence (4.15) have done a great job of limiting the damage and preserving the rest of the bullpen by eating numerous innings when they enter the game. That's one feature that the A's did not have to play with last season. Well that, and a dominant late inning duo.

Dany Jiménez (3.60) has been good, but he's walked seven batters in ten innings, and Michael Kelly (3.95) had been solid up until Wednesday night when he allowed three runs against the Yankees. The worst reliever has been the returning T.J. McFarland, who holds a 4.50 ERA, but with the small sample sizes we're left to parse through at this point in the season, especially for a reliever, that's not all that bad. That said, according to the Stuff+ leaderboard over at FanGraphs, his "stuff" is well below average and is a good deal behind most of the rest of the A's pitchers. His location has been what has made him effective.

The bullpen has been a big strength of this team in the early going, and is a big reason why the A's sit 3.5 games back of first place in the AL West, with the Houston Astros trailing them by three games.

This isn't mean to say that the A's are back, or that they'll necessarily be competing for the division or even a wild-card spot. That still feels like it's at least a few pieces and a consistent offense away. But they do seem to be finding some players to build around in the early going this year, and that's still exciting.