A's Enter May in First Place in the AL West

When the season began, it wasn't crazy to think that the A's could be leading the AL West after the first month of the season, holding a 17-14 record.

The formula would be simple: Nick Kurtz is crushing baseballs just like he did in his rookie campaign, Brent Rooker would be the glue in the lineup, and Shea Langeliers would potentially take another step forward.

Throw in guys like Jacob Wilson, who hit .311 last season, and Tyler Soderstrom, who led the A's in RBI last season, and you have a capable group of mashers that can get hot for a stretch.

While some of that is true — in particular the bit about Langeliers taking another step forward — the reason for the team's success has been mostly about guys stepping up when given an opportunity, and the team getting a roughly league-average performance from the pitching staff.

A's pitchers have combined for a 4.23 ERA through April 30, ranking them 17th in MLB. Last year they were either at, or near the bottom of those rankings the entire season. This is a huge step up for that group.

April's stepping up, breaking out award (pitcher)

This month's Stepping Up, Breaking Out award goes to Jack Perkins, who didn't even begin the season on the A's Opening Day roster. The 26-year-old has gone 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA and three saves in eight appearances spanning 13 1/3 innings of work.

While win-loss records and save totals don't hold the same esteem as they once did, in this context, it shows just how much trust the A's have in Perkins to go out and pitch with the game on the line. He's also been showing an ability to read swings and pitch rather than throw this season.

He could be something more valuable than a closer if the A's want, or they could have him lock down the ninth inning, at least officially, in time. Either way, the A's now have a weapon they hadn't even unsheathed when the season started.

Two honorable mentions have to be given for this month's award, too, because without these two arms, the A's staff as a whole would be struggling.

The first is Aaron Civale, who has been a tremendous addition to the rotation. In six starts he's 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA across 30 2/3 innings. He has gone at least five innings in all but one start — against the Chicago White Sox in his first home outing — and even then he went 4 2/3 innings.

He also hasn't racked up six innings yet, so you know you're getting somewhere around 15 outs from Civale when he toes the rubber.

The second is Joel Kuhnel, who has helped solidify the bullpen immensely. He was called up on April 7 and tossed one-third of an inning against the New York Yankees in a game the A's bullpen had already blown. The following day we wrote that the A's closer-by-committee was creating a late-game problem without any semblance of fixed roles.

That night Kuhnel notched his first save of the season, and essentially took the pressure off everyone else in the bullpen. In his 10 appearances, he holds a 2.70 ERA with four saves, and really steadied the bullpen when that group was floundering. His arrival and performance put the A's on the path they're currently on.

April's stepping up, breaking out award (batter)

Our Stepping Up, Breaking Out batter for April has to be Carlos Cortes. Last year he made his big-league debut at the age of 28, and was used as a pinch-hitter in key spots. He excelled in that role. This year, when Brent Rooker landed on the injured list on April 10, Cortes was thrust into an everyday role, and has run with the opportunity.

On the season, he's gone 27-for-69 (.391) with a .462 OBP, and is one home run behind Nick Kurtz with four. He also ranks fifth on the team in RBI with 13, despite having roughly 40 fewer at-bats than the team leaders. Cortes is also running with an OPS of 1.129. Many thought that it would be possible for an A's player to have an OPS above 1.000, but nobody had that player being Cortes.

Nick Kurtz is walking his way into the history books on a daily basis while continuing to absolutely crush the baseball when provided the opportunity, but he's also hitting .236 with a .417 on-base percentage and a .842 OPS. Last year he was one of three players with at least 450 plate appearances to hold an OPS above 1.000. The other two were MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

While Kurtz has still been tremendous, he hasn't been otherworldly just yet.

Tyler Soderstrom is still leading the team in RBI with 18, thanks to his approach when he's up to bat with runners in scoring position, but he's hitting just .211 with a .298 OBP and a 90 wRC+ (100 is league average).

Brent Rooker missed a little time with an oblique injury, but when he's been on the field he's gone just 6-for-54 (.111) with as many stolen bases (2) as home runs. There is little doubt within the clubhouse that he'll get going again before long, but he has fallen short of his expectations thus far.

The A's offense as a group ranks 17th in home runs this season with 32, and 21st in runs with 131.

Nobody had the A's pitching staff being ranked ahead of the offense.

Who to watch in May

Jacob Wilson is getting back to what makes him successful after a tough start to the season. On April 17, he was hitting a decent but unspectacular .250, but in the 11 games he's played since, Wilson has gone 17-for-48 (.354) and accumulated seven multi-hit games. When Wilson is on a roll, those hits come in droves, so look for that to continue into May.

While Shea Langeliers has been the key to the A's offense all season, he and his wife are also expecting a baby in the coming days. We've seen this across teams and seasons, but when a player welcomes a new child, they tend to receive some dad power. This is unscientific, but completely real. The rest of baseball should beware.

On the pitching side of things, we're looking for another breakout arm. That could be Jacob Lopez getting back to what made him successful last season, by limiting walks and going deeper into games. It could also be Luis Morales figuring out his command issues in the minors to push his way back up to Sacramento.

If neither of those happens, then we're looking for No. 3 prospect Gage Jump to put together a string of starts force the A's hand into calling him up and putting him in the A's rotation in June. So far this season Jump holds a 6.38 ERA (4.37 FIP) in 18 1/3 innings of work, so there is work to do.

May will be a big month for the A's, with a road series against the Philadelphia Phillies, a home series against the San Francisco Giants, and a home series against the New York Yankees to close out the month.

After April, it's no longer on the A's to show they belong atop the AL West. It's on the rest of the division to prove they don't.

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