A's Hot Spring Start Indicative of Success in Regular Season?
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We're a week into spring training games, so it's silly to make sweeping prognostications for what may or may not happen come September. Yet, at the same time, the A's are sitting at 5-2 in Cactus League play, holding the second-best record in Arizona, behind just the unbeaten Chicago Cubs (8-0). The Cubs also happen to be the opponent that the A's will face in their first series in Sacramento.
The A's are becoming the trendy pick as a true dark horse team in 2025, given the upgrades they've made around the diamond, and the young talent that could take a step forward this season. The makings of a surprise team are certainly there. What aids those thoughts is that the AL West looks to have taken a step back, and an 85-win team could end up winning the division.
The A's may not be a 90-win team, but there is a world in which they could sniff 85.
So does this hot start to spring training mean anything? Well, it's definitely better than being 2-5 as the team looks to turn a corner. The short answer is that the current record doesn't mean much, but their record at the end of camp could be something to keep an eye on. When the A's have success in camp, that tends to follow them into the regular season.
Year | Spring Record | Regular Season Record |
|---|---|---|
2024 | 14-14 | 69-93 |
2023 | 11-17 (Last) | 50-112 |
2022 | 5-10 | 60-102 |
2021 | 16-10 | 86-76 |
2019 | 14-8 (Best) | 97-65 |
2018 | 14-16 | 97-65 |
You have to go back to 2018 to find a season where the direction of the A's record in spring training didn't match how they finished the regular season, in terms of above or below the .500 mark. Last year's 14-14 record was a solid indicator that the team wouldn't lose 112 games again.
Again, there are still weeks remaining in camp and one bad week could flip the current 5-2 record completely around, but the early returns are trending in the right direction.
One of the early standouts has been right fielder Lawrence Butler, who has collected seven hits in 12 at-bats, good for a .583 batting average. Mixed in there are two home runs, a double, five RBI, and most importantly, just one strikeout.
Another fun line is that of catcher Shea Langeliers, who has gone 3-for-8 in camp, and all three hits have been doubles.
For the A's to reach where they're trying to go in 2025, they'll need Butler to have a season that puts him on the map. He's already had his breakout season, but he needs to produce similarly to what he did in the second half of the 2024 campaign, when he was one of the best hitters in baseball.
A strong season of improvement from Langeliers would also be quite beneficial, but he doesn't neccesarily need to have a huge jump in his production at the plate. It's one way he can have success, but improving his defensive metrics behind the dish would also be helpful in elevating his game to the next level.
The A's are believing in themselves this spring, but we'll have to wait and see if they can shock some people.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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