A's Most Glaring Question in Center Before Opening Day
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Denzel Clarke burst onto the scene last season by making a multitude of highlight catches in his first few weeks of being a big leaguer, and immediately cementing himself as arguably the best glove in baseball.
The A's centerfielder only played in 47 games, but he racked up an impressive 1.3 fWAR, +7 defensive runs saved and +13 outs above average. The advanced metrics loved his defense.
What is still up for debate is how he'll be with the bat, which is the most glaring question facing the A's on the position player side of things ahead of Opening Day. The infield is pretty settled with the addition of Jeff McNeil during the offseason joining Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson. Max Muncy has also solidified his spot at the hot corner this spring.
The A's outfield has two of their four extended players—Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler—so they're set there too.
How he's fared
Last season Clarke ended up hitting .230 with a .274 OBP and an incredibly high 38.4% strikeout rate. He also notched three home runs and 18 runs scored, leading to a 75 wRC+ (100 is league average).
This spring he has gone just 1-for-23 in A's camp, which comes out to a .043 batting average. He also appears to have been incredibly unlucky with a BABIP of just .048. He's been attacking the ball earlier in counts, trying to jump on pitchers, and it hasn't worked just yet, but this is also an extremely small sample size we're looking at.
He's seeing just 2.571 pitches per plate appearances this spring. Last year with the A's he was seeing 3.969 per PA. The one benefit of this approach is that he's been staying away from strikeouts, collecting just two so far in camp.
When he was off playing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Clarke went 3-for-16 with three runs scored, a stolen base and two RBI. So combined, he has gone 4-for-35 (.114). While his defense is otherworldly, and a very welcome addition to the roster, how much leeway will that grant him?
A's considering other options?
While it's likely just a matter of getting guys a little time at a new position just in case, the A's have deployed a couple of players in center the past week that were not Denzel Clarke. Even with the season approaching, Clarke still needs days off here and there.
On Sunday, March 15, it was Zack Gelof that was taking a turn in center for the first time. The second baseman has been working on his versatility this spring in an effort to find a way back to the A's roster moving forward. After that game, Clarke played the next three in center.
Then on Friday night, it was another second baseman—this time Jeff McNeil—in center. Last season with the Mets he played in 34 games in center (28 starts), so it's not completely unfamiliar territory for him. This could just be to give the A's coaching staff an idea of how he moves out in center, if needed, or perhaps it could be an early look for when the infield roster mix shuffles a bit.
With A's top prospect Leo De Vries looking like he's starting the season in Triple-A Las Vegas at the age of 19, there's a real chance he could be in the big leagues fairly shortly. If De Vries climbs up quickly, that could mean more centerfield duties for McNeil than were originally projected.
How well Clarke's bat performs will determine how long of a leash he gets to start the season. He doesn't have to do much with the bat because his glove is so special, but he needs to limit the strikeouts more than he did in his rookie season, and also get on base at a respectable clip.
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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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