5 Takeaways from the A's Opening Series
Spring Training isn’t always a good sampling of how the regular season will play out. Guys are experimenting with different things and playing abbreviated amounts, so it’s not an accurate depiction of talent, approach, or stamina for the long road ahead. But with opening weekend underway, we finally got a taste of what these 2023 A’s could do.
The Los Angeles Angels outshone Oakland in the home series, outscoring them 22-3 over three games, but in true Felina-fashion I’m here to brief you and pump you up about the promise of this group. If you want to be negative, that’s what social media is for. Here we stick to highlights, because who has time for lowlights outside of the hair salon?
Everyday Plug and Play
Our last taste of Aledmys Díaz before suiting up in kelly green was his controversial lean-in on a pitch in the 2022 World Series. I didn't like it, so when news dropped that Oakland signed him as a free agent this offseason, I had to juggle my feelings about it. Now that he's officially ours, dare I say I'm excited to watch him play everyday in any one of our infield spots.
Opening weekend we got to see Díaz at both short and third base. I have him down for seven defensive assists over the three games; beyond that, he just looked right out there. He’s on the taller side for an infielder at 6’1”, and the thing I noticed most from him was he wastes no steps getting to the right spot. Particularly on Thursday night he laid out for a ball that didn’t turn into an out, however the way he protected it from leaving the infield dirt was reassuring. I’m not going to throw a bunch of numbers at you about his fielding range in Houston, but they are more than decent for a guy who hasn’t been an everyday starter since 2018. Since our left side hasn’t been defensively secure since Chappy, I’m welcoming Díaz at any spot Manager Mark Kotsay slots him.
Out of 13 players to make plate appearances this series, he was the most productive at the plate, providing three hits of the team’s 16, tied only with Jesús Aguilar. I get it if you’re still hesitant and need time to fully warm up to him. He is a former Astro after all.
My one last sales pitch to you is how cool his name is! I may be biased as someone who’s struggled with a unique first name my entire life, but I’m ready for the A’s to enter their era of unusual names. No offense to Matt, or the other Matt.
Muller Set the Tone
A frustrating trade brought Kyle Muller aboard, and his average showing in spring made fans ambivalent about the A’s opening night announcement. I guessed it was a decision built to space out Shintaro Fujinami starts, plus Muller was the healthiest and ready to go in the rotation.
Thursday night the big Texan proved me wrong. The 12th professional start of his career was a gem: giving up only four hits and one walk over five innings, and allowing only one run to cross the plate. Anyone tuning in for Ohtani’s performance was given a two-for-one pitching showcase. He didn’t mow anyone down with crazy speed, his 4-seam fastball averaged 92.8 MPH and he only struck out three batters, but he pitched effectively against an Angels’ lineup that proved to be dangerous the following two games.
This team has hosted a lot of new, young faces lately, yet Muller doesn't carry himself like a guy who wasn’t even a lock for a Major League rotation. In his start, the 25-year old stood tall and looked relaxed in a way disproportionate to his experience level. The next time we will see him pitch is Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum against the Guardians, and if he can sling it well a second time, it will cement that his big night wasn’t a fluke.
Ruiz is That Guy
Parting ways with Cristian Pache was a challenge for some fans, but I think it's safe to say Esteury Ruiz is loudly showcasing his abilities on both sides of the ball worthy of the roster spot. Twitter was flooded with his opening night lay-out catch to rob Mike Trout of a hit in the first inning.
The ball zoomed 107.9 MPH off Trout’s bat, and Esteury (who has told various media members to call him Poki instead) outran it, traveling 63 feet in 2.1 seconds, according to the Twitter account @Outfieldbot. Statcast gave the play a 15% chance of being successfully caught, and it was a stunner! It even left Ruiz himself needing a second to pick himself off the grass.
His offense started before Opening weekend, but I’m going to count it for the sake of this argument because it did happen on Bay Area soil. In the exhibition game in San Francisco last Monday night, he had a big-league bomb to deep left-center field. The ball soared off his bat with an exit velocity of 109.4 MPH on a cold Bay Area night, despite his fairly petite frame.
My personal whoa-ment actually came the day prior in Oakland. Thanks to a timely hit from Tony Kemp, Ruiz was able to score from first base. What excited me the most was him almost surpassing the man in front of him. In the video below, you can see as the bases clear Ruiz actually has to slide to avoid not colliding with Nick Allen at the plate. His speed is clearly electric and his bat appears nearly Show ready.
Charge up the Laser Show
It’s been well documented what Ramón Laureano has been through the past few seasons and what this year could mean for the potential of his career long-term. And I’ll admit it - Thursday night was unnerving. I got some text messages from friends who were concerned by the three consecutive K’s, but I waved them off, as any good Laureano-apologist would. I redirected them to his attempt in the 8th inning to hit it to the right side, which he semi-successfully did…minus the fact it went right at the man guarding the spot. I tried to tell them: “he had the right idea!”
Luckily things started to settle in for the Laser in game two of the set. We got to see him smoke one out nearly 400 feet, notching the only run on the scoreboard for Oakland in the final two games of the series. He also started to show out defensively in a way familiar to fans. The same afternoon, a near-perfect throw almost nailed a base-runner at the plate. Shea Langeliers’ wingspan was short a few inches on the tag or SportsCenter would have had a candidate for a top-10 play.
Ramón’s confidence at the plate was fully loaded by Sunday. You could see it in the 2nd inning when he dropped the bat for a walk before the HP umpire even called it, and again when he pushed a 4th inning single into a double with a slide that engaged and dirtied every limb of his uniform. These are all signs of good things to come, and hints to the player A’s fans know him to be. Hopefully he can remember the title of his new walk-up song, “Todo Esta OK” (Everything is okay), and get out of his head.
La Muerte Shut ‘em Down
Maybe my favorite thing I saw this weekend was the close out from Dany Jimenez on opening night. He was composed and kept decent control, ending the game with a K, one walk, and two consecutive flyouts. In front of a loud, crowded Coliseum, he leaned heavily on his slider, throwing it for 20 of his 27 pitches.
In 2022 Jimenez notched 11 saves for the ballclub, and solidified an unofficial role as the team’s closer before dealing with season-ending shoulder problems. As for 2023, the ninth inning is really up for grabs. Kotsay has mentioned publicly that there are a few men he could hand the ball to in late innings, but it’s hard not to root for Dany to get his groove back.
His velocity has been a touch lower following his recovery. The speed gun clocked his fastest pitch Thursday at 91.8 MPH against Luis Rengifo, and his second-fastest in the same at bat at 91.3. Jimenez’ average fastball pre-injury is listed on Baseball Savant as 93.9 MPH. His health and performance in late innings could be a real highlight this season if he can bring it back, or even make do in his current state.