Prospects: Best Position? Needed Position?

I have often taken issue with where the A’s groom their minor league players to play defense. Best as I can tell, they default to leaving players at the most valuable positions for as long as possible, even if scouting reports suggest a move is inevitable and even if Oakland’s organizational needs appear to be elsewhere.

Perhaps the most glaring example was Grant Green, a shortstop in name only who finally was moved (unsuccessfully) to CF and then 2B. Turns out he can’t really play anywhere. Oakland kept Franklin Barreto at SS a long time even though his skill set screamed 2B — or perhaps CF, which he had tried briefly in the Winter League with some success.

Right now a multitude of players have ambiguous defensive destinations, with some of the ambiguity created by where the A’s are strong, or have needs, at the big league level.

Jorge Mateo

Oft projected as a potentially valuable CFer, so far Mateo is entrenched at SS even though there is a theoretical logjam up the middle with Barreto, Mateo, and Marcus Semien all currently in the picture through 2020.

However, that’s not a huge logjam given that two of them are prospects with no assurance of thriving in the big leagues, and the third is halfway through his contract controlled seasons. Also, you could argue that a team needs 3 middle infielders to be successful since injuries and changes in performance create the need for depth.

That all being said, the A’s are currently banking on Dustin Fowler to be both healthy enough, and skilled enough, to man CF in the coming years. Other than Boog Powell, who probably tops out as a good 4th OFer, nothing is in the pipeline for CF that Oakland would want to count on. Moving Mateo to CF would assure that a Fowler-Pinder LF platoon could provide reliably plus defense, and would give the A’s a set DP tandem of Barreto and Semien up the middle. Tempting indeed.

Regarding keeping Mateo at SS, though, I support the A’s on this one. Scouting reports may be mixed, but there is ample reason to believe Mateo has a chance to stick at SS and his ETA, if he comes up in 2019, only crosses with Semien by 2 years. If Mateo bombs entirely Semien is in place, and if he excels Semien is a candidate to be traded, not extended, or even moved to another position. With Max Schrock, Joey Wendle, and Yairo Muñoz gone there is suddenly enough thinness up the middle, and enough potential in Mateo’s glove there (not to mention uncertainty as to how he would handle CF), that I think it makes sense to keep Mateo at SS for now.

Sheldon Neuse

If there is any position where the tea leaves strongly suggest “no vacancy for nearly ever,” it’s 3B. Matt Chapman is already dangerously close to being the face of the franchise, undoubtedly first in line for an early contract extension, and to be a 3Bman on the A’s is the lite version of being Derek Jeter’s backup SS or Jason Kendall’s backup catcher.

Where does that leave Neuse, a 3Bman with a bat that won’t quit, a body and skill set that leaves it ambiguous as to where else he can succeed? Some have suggested 2B, though his body type does not scream ‘range,’ while others have lobbied for RF, where Neuse’s throwing arm would be put to good use but his speed — specifically lack thereof — might conjure up memories of Ben Grieve, Jay Bruce, and Matt Joyce.

For now, Neuse is a 3Bman and here I think the A’s are erring if they intend to keep him but don’t move him to another position now. Neuse’s avenue to the big leagues, at least with Oakland, is not at 3B, so he may as well learn to master a position where he can fit into the A’s plans.

Because of the Barreto-Mateo-Semien logjam, and with Neuse seemingly on a fast track to the big leagues as a hitter, it would seem wisest to try Neuse in the COF and see how it takes. Of course now the A’s have Stephen Piscotty under contract for the next 5 seasons, and he is both a RFer and a right-handed batter. Still, Barreto is a far better prospect than Neuse and will be a far better 2Bman, so it looks like there are more opportunities for Neuse to crack COF than 2B, and possibly a better chance of being successful there.

It may turn out that Neuse is more of a DH. But if the A’s keep him at 3B, you have to figure he is more trade bait for a team in need of a 3Bman than he is part of Oakland’s future plans. If the A’s hope for Neuse to fit somewhere in the 2019-23 plans, they need to try to find a position for him other than 3B.

Dustin Fowler

Despite his severe knee injury and subsequent “I’m permanently damaged!” lawsuit, and despite metrics that haven’t loved him as a CFer in the minors so far, the A’s have been steadfast in insisting that Fowler is the A’s CFer as soon as Opening Day, 2018.

You may have a situation where Fowler is a below average CFer and above average LFer, and an argument could be made for the A’s to move Fowler to LF now, committing to someone else to man CF. That someone, at the moment, would have to be the slick fielding, high-OBP-but-not-a-whole-lot else, Powell, or it could come from outside the organization in the form of a Lorenzo Cain or Carlos Gomez.

Maybe the A’s are thinking they will move Fowler, if necessary, in 2019 when Matt Joyce’s contract is up. But there are risks to throwing Fowler to CF now as he recovers from knee surgery and gets his feet wet in MLB.

On this one, I guess I support the A’s giving it a shot until it doesn’t work. After all, they can still punt on it by giving Fowler AAA time and moving him to LF in a year. Other CF options may have dried up by spring training when Oakland sees, for the first time, how Folwer handles the position. But with Powell as Fowler’s understudy and Joyce-Pinder currently in LF, there is room for the A’s to gamble on Fowler as a CF until he proves he cannot handle it.

So much for an outfield of Fowler-Neuse in LF, Mateo in CF, Piscotty in RF. You hope we don’t get to 2019 or 2020 and the A’s front office says, “Man, that would have been a great idea...” So much could fall into place if those guys make it and could fill those positions in that way. But for now, Mateo and Neuse are infielders, Fowler is up the middle, and the A’s continue to be slow to move young players off of positions for which they may not have a future and/or may not excel.

Is Oakland playing it right? Stay tuned...