A's Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses Heading into Opening Day

With the Athletics set to begin the 2025 season tonight versus the Seattle Mariners, there are a few clear strengths for this team and some weaknesses that they will need to improve on throughout the season.

Strength: Power. Lots of Power

The A's have a lot of power in their lineup, and it may be their calling card this season. Brent Rooker hit 39 home runs last season and 30 the season before that. Lawrence Butler hit 22 home runs last season, with 20 of those coming after July 1.

Shea Langeliers was one shy of 30 home runs last season, and he has improved at the plate each season. JJ Bleday hit 20 home runs, but he also hit 43 doubles last season.

The A's will play in Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for their home games this season, and while it is unknown how that park will play, the assumption is it will be a much more hitter-friendly park than the Oakland Coliseum was.

Weakness: Starting Pitching

As of now, this is more of a question mark than a weakness. The A's went out this winter and brought it two veteran arms who will provide a good amount of help for their rotation in Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs, who will hopefully take some pressure off of JP Sears.

However, the A's will need Joey Estes and Osvaldo Bido to take the next step in order for this rotation to reach its potential.

Severino has been up and down the past few seasons; Springs has dealt with several injuries in his career, which undoubtedly is going to raise some questions on just how good this A's rotation can be. The A's do have quite a few prospects nearing their MLB debut, so reinforcements can help, but the pitchers in the rotation now will have to produce for this current rotation to improve from last season.

Strength: Youth and Prospects on the Rise

The A's No. 1 prospect, Jacob Wilson, is coming off a great spring and there are high expectations for him. A's No. 7 prospect, Max Muncy, earned his promotion to the big leagues after second baseman Zack Gelof landed on the injured list.

The expectation was the A's were going to have Muncy get reps at third base in Triple-A, in hopes he will become their future third baseman, but now Muncy will have an early chance to show what he can do in the majors.

The A's have quite a few players in Triple-A who are nearing their MLB debuts, like No. 2 and No. 3 prospects Nick Kurtz and Colby Thomas. The youth movement has started for the A's and will not slow down any time soon. Kurtz has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for his first full season in pro ball.

Weakness: Infield Defense

A's GM David Forst stated early in the offseason that he wanted to improve the A's infield defense, and he did just that with the additions of Gio Urshela and Luis Urías. Urshela will most likely play every day at third to start the season, with Urías coming off the bench.

Hopefully the young A's infielders improve in the field as the season goes on, as that would be a big boost for this club.

The expectation is that the A's will be better than they were last year, with Butler creating some buzz that they will "wake the league up." If the A's can play to their strengths and improve on their weaknesses, the sky is the limit for this young club.