Bilbo161

Is this the kid that had to be saved from being trampled at home plate by a scoring runner when Dusty was managing the Giants in the playoffs many years ago?

I was thinking of Caratini because he has more history but decided to take EJM here. De La Cruz is also in the mix around here for me.

Jeimer Candelario has been my choice for a while now so no reason to change. He is even looking good in Spring Training. Is he 3B/1B only? Or could he play LF? He seems like a decent choice if we need to call someone up in an injury/emergency type situation. If he can't play the OF though he may not be the best fit. Really like his bat.

Almora for me. Happ was considered but like a few others he seems more of a question mark for me. I'd like to see him at a bit higher level before I put him ahead of Albert.

Almost took Almora for the high floor and not so bad ceiling either but I put Contreras 1st. Can't wait to see these guys in ST.

Villanueva has been tried at 2B when he was with the Texans and reports at the time of his trade said it didn't end well. He's played a total of 20 innings at that position in his time with the Cubs. He's primarily been a 3B and was pushed to 1B this past season in AAA. He probably could play some LF as well, but has limited experience there thus far. If he's being considered as a bench guy, he'd primarily be a 3B/1B. Unfortunately, his bat has been uninspiring. Sure, he's putting up great numbers in a small sample in the Mexican League this winter, but he played there last season and produced at about the same rate as he did in AAA last year which was, well, uninspiring. Unless his bat as majorly turned a corner and he lights up spring training and AAA in the beginning of 2016, there's little reason to think his performance this winter is meaningful. Certainly not too inspiring considering how spoiled we have gotten lately. But, he does seem to be developing the kind of strike zone control that fits the system well. I'm just hoping he gets a chance to compete for a bench role and kind-of go from there. Just noticed last night's line. 1-3, 2 walks and 4 RBI's? Yep, he gets more time from me.

Yeah, he has my vote for 2nd infielder off the bench with Lastella being the other.He should be an improvement over Herrera, at least. ooh this would be pretty cool Part of me thinks if Villanueva has a big offensive first half he could be a valuable trading chip. Then the other part of me is like "He's never been that guy" and agrees with this sentiment of him being a solid backup IF. Yea Villanueva has been looking real good. Player POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS E Christian Villanueva 3B 42 148 28 53 6 0 5 19 74 26 16 3 2 .464 .500 .358 .964 4 26/16 BB/SO on top of that line of .358/.464/.500 Would love to see him get some big league exposure before trading him as a toss-in. He might up his value quite a bit.

I like your list. I think the only thing worth changing is I would pop Almora up to number 3 or 4 and move the rest down one spot. I agree with your take on Almora's second half and would be really excited if he could continue that improvement in plate discipline. If he does he may be able to man the leadoff position later in the year or in 2017. For now, his D in CF is enough to put him above Mckinney for me anyway.

I thought he would be there too. Must think he has no chance as a starter, but to me, he could be a lights out type RP and should be there on that alone.

I agree. That's eye opening for me on Wilson. One more reason to look forward to following him. The lack of arm is so prevalent in CF that most teams don't even require it anymore. At least it seems that way. Always bothered me about Bobby Dernier.

Huh. Kinda like the guy myself. What's the issue?

you're kidding yourself if you don't think that they already have at least one or two in there Yeah ... professional athletes? I'm guessing it'd be lucky if the anti-gay animus wasn't over half. I see you hiding behind that rock with your pitchforks and torches.

they think it's 2002 and only billy beane knows about obp? Chuckles. Partly right, Leave out the word only and add that we also have a working relationship with Beane and the A's have the DH to give him a second position to play if 1B is taken. That working relationship part also means that Beane is reasonable to deal with and will give you value where its due, unlike some guys like Amaro in Philly who only want's one-sided deals. So far at least. :)

The reason I think that is his plate discipline. Moneyball values high OBP and being in the AL, the A's also have the DH position to fill. NL teams could only play him at 1B.

Yea that's the hard part isn't it. I for one have no interest in any trade if it costs us any of our elite position prospects. Including Baez and Schwarber. I might change that tune just a bit if the return is Sonny Gray, who is the one guy I see worth the extra cost, but even for him I would never give up any of Russell, Schwarber, Bryant, or Soler. I would include Castro if it were for a guy like Gray, but I don't think he is a good fit for the A's in terms of plate discipline. I think generally speaking our system is a pretty good fit for the A's so I'm sure we could do a deal if Oakland were interested, just not sure if we would be willing to pay the future price. Not sure I could stomach the risk of giving up the likes of Jimenez, Torrez and that would just be the beginning of the package. I do think the A's are the one team that would give us fair value for Vogelbach. Maybe those three plus two of Edwards, Underwood, Sands, and Cease? Hell, what do I know anyway.