A's Land Two Players on MLB's Underrated List

Aug 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder JJ Bleday (33) gestures toward the Oakland Athletics dugout after hitting a one run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Athletics are an underrated team heading into the 2025 season. Even the projection systems don't believe in them. Part of the reason for that lack of confidence is because the club just hasn't done it...yet.

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com has released his All-Underrated Team, and on it are two A's, catcher Shea Langeliers and centerfielder JJ Bleday.

The criteria he laid out to make the list was as follows: No All-Star appearances in the last five years (a change from “no All-Star appearances ever,” because I think we can all agree 2019 might as well be another lifetime). No BBWAA Awards (MVP, Cy Young or Rookie of the Year), ever in the player’s career. No Silver Slugger or Gold Glove honors, ever in the player’s career. No All-MLB Team honors, ever in the player’s career.

The list continues with no prominent inclusion on MLB Network’s current “Top 10 Right Now!” lists this year (a slight, less-strict wording change from previous years, for reasons that will be explained below). No nine-figure contracts, and at least two years of service time.

Given those parameters, Langeliers and Bleday seem like no-brainers. Castrovince even mentions that the A's themselves may be his All-Underrated Team heading into 2025. We have asked the question of whether or not they're a postseason team, so A's on SI is buying into the underrated hype. Whether or not they'll play in October is certainly up for debate, but they could be in the conversation.

As for the two players named in the MLB article, Langeliers' stats, particularly his .224 batting average, may not jump out to people and say "star player," but he also swatted 29 home runs last season, second only to Seattle's Cal Raleigh among backstops.

Langeliers also posted a 109 wRC+ (100 is league average), meaning that despite the low batting average, he was still an above average bat when compared to all hitters in baseball, not just catchers. He's not likely to be considered the best all-around catcher in baseball in the future, but a solid top-10 guy is within the realm of possibility. Put him in Sacramento, and Sutter Health Park may add a couple of bombs to his total this season.

Then you have Bleday, who had a bit of a breakout season in 2024. While he's not going to touch Aaron Judge's production at the plate for his position, he still ranked No. 8 among centerfielders in wRC+ with a 120, and No. 11 in fWAR with 3.1 wins above replacement, making him the third-most valuable player on the A's.

Bleday hadn't cracked the Mendoza Line in his first two stints in the big leagues, hitting .167 in 65 games in 2022, and .195 in 82 games in 2023. Last season he batted .243 with a .324 OBP, clubbed 20 homers and drove in 60 RBI. There is still plenty of room for him to grow heading into 2025, and considering the massive leap he took from '23 to '24, it'll be fun to see what he can do in 2025.