It’s Fun When “Let The Kids Play” Works

It’s frustrating to watch a rookie flail at a pitcher’s pitch or struggle to read a fly ball off the bat, but at least you can hope for, watch and mark, improvement, and find out what you might have (or not have) a couple years down the road.

Contrast that with watch Seth Brown flail at the same changeup they threw him in 2019 or think of Aledmys Diaz coming back to supplant one of the young guys finally getting their extended shot, and the team just became more boring and no better.

Oakland’s lineup last night was even younger than you may have realized, in that several players are chronologically older yet still barely getting started in the big leagues. At the corners you had Brett Harris and Tyler Soderstrom, with Max Schuemann at shortstop, Kyle McCann behind the plate, Tyler Nevin, JJ Bleday, and Lawrence Butler in the outfield. Shea Langeliers, also a relative pup, pinch hit. And the starting pitcher was 22 year old Joey Estes.

Despite being 26, Schuemann and McCann made their big league debuts this season. Nevin, also 26, got a cup of coffee with the Tigers last season but has still logged just 370 MLB at bats. Bleday may seem like a “veteran” but has played in just 188 games over his 3 years in the big leagues.

Here’s what the Eyeball Scout has noticed with some of the young ‘uns trying to cement a spot on the diamond for your Oaklandish A’s...

Brett Harris

Last night was a reminder of how important good defense is. The A’s have trotted out some poor defenses since the start of the 2022 season, most notably at 3B where the likes of Sheldon Neuse, Jordan Diaz, Aledmys Diaz, Jonah Bride, and Abraham Toro have tried their clanky hands at the position.

There has never been any question about Harris’ glove, and his defensive acumen paid big dividends last night especially the diving catch in a 5th inning in which Estes was starting to get hit hard for the first time.

The question has always been whether Harris’ patient but light-hitting approach will pay dividends at the highest level. He has surprised by launching 3 HRs but still hasn’t added many other hits, producing a current slash line of .172/.359/.483. If you’re wondering how a .172 batting average can translate into a 144 wRC+, it’s the other two numbers driving his success. He is walking (20.5% rate) and in the small sample his 3 HRs carry a lot of statistical weight.

Here’s what I’m actually seeing with Harris. He does a good job of turning on inside pitches and maybe more importantly shows a willingness to take outside pitches the other way. The problem he is having is that when he connects on outside pitches, very often he is hitting them off the end of the bat.

Because he is handling the inside pitch well, and even hitting for enough power to scare pitchers away from coming in too much, I wonder if Harris would benefit from creeping just an inch or two closer to the plate in order to cover the outside corner with the sweet spot on his bat — something he thinks he is doing now, but somehow the bat isn’t quite getting to the ball as intended.

Obviously Harris needs to get his batting average over the Mendoza line and upwards of .240 in order to be a true every day player long term. But when your team can turn singles and doubles into outs and DPs, it helps the pitching staff and takes pressure off the offense, and gives you a far better chance to get to the late innings tied or ahead — and that’s when this year’s A’s are particularly tough.

To me Harris is a keeper in the Mark Ellis mold of un-flashy but highly competent players whose value is seen more by eyes over 162 games than will ever jump out at you on the stat sheet.

Max Schuemann

Schuemann is another player who is refreshingly patient and discerning at the plate, willing to take a walk, unafraid to hit with 2 strikes, and able to use the whole field. Like Harris, he comes with the question of whether he will slug enough to succeed and unlike Harris his defense is not considered a particular strength.

When I first saw Schuemann bat, what jumped out at me is how big he is. I always imagined him as a small slap hitter, but watching him at the plate it’s curious that he doesn’t hit for more power and you wonder if that’s a “swing plane / launch angle” issue or why it is that he doesn’t tend to drive the ball more when he hits it.

I have been generally impressed with the quality of his at bats, but it’s also worth noting that he has K’d at a 24.1% rate and given his profile and history we should expect that with experience and familiarity most likely that number will trend down. So we may not have even seen the best of Schuemann yet as a hitter.

He is batting .200/.315/.333 but I expect his average to rise steadily. It’s the slugging you need to watch because historically Schuemann’s slugging has been pedestrian. I would like to see him tap into some of the power his body naturally should provide, and that may be a mechanical tweak far beyond my expertise.

Defensively, we have seen that there is no position at which Schuemann really excels so he is your classic “jack of all trades, master of none”. He seems better suited to the infield than the outfield, and if there is one promising development it’s that since thrown into the every day shortstop role he has actually handled it well even though it’s not his best position.

Even last night, though, you saw the lack of facility when Julio Rodriguez’ potential DP ball nearly ran up his arm, and a slow feed to Toro lost any chance of turning 2 (they probably weren’t going to anyway, as Toro is pretty slow on the pivot at 2B). But even there, at least he made sure to get one out — if Nick Allen is at SS, most likely the A’s either turn a fine DP or Allen kicks it and they get no one.

Schuemann is stretched as an every day starter at any given position, but I think he has a chance to be a valuable utility infielder who can, as he is doing now, step in every day when there is a temporary need. I think the bat is only going to get better, as the K’s drop and his .250 BABIP likely regresses up about .030 points.

Joey Estes

Estes was made for the Coliseum and for T-Mobile park, and should never be allowed to pitch in Summerlin. Of course he gave up HRs like they were going out of style, as his fly ball tendencies and the Nevada desert are a lethal combination.

Estes took a 6.04 AAA ERA into last night’s start and did what Estes does: he missed a lot of bats, gave up a lot of fly balls, one left the park and otherwise he was excellent. Notably, in 5 IP he did not issue a walk, part of why the HR off him was just a solo shot (if you’re going to give up HRs it may as well be on the first pitch of the inning!).

Estes reminds me of a right-handed version of JP Sears: fastball 93-94 MPH, most effective and very confident throwing it at the top of the strike zone, with a breaking ball and changeup that when located are very effective — and when not well located become launch missiles. Both give up a ton of HRs but not a lot of other hits.

Pitchers like Sears are a bit more valuable than they seem. Often the ERA is higher than you would like and the HRs are maddening, but if you can 180 IP from a pitcher who gives you a chance to win more often than not, that’s a solid back-end SP.

With Estes, given that he is still only 22 and already seeing some success it appears his floor is that of a useful back-end SP. The question is whether he can elevate his game to become more like a #3 SP, which is a significant step up on the ladder.

To me, the answer lies in whether Estes can develop the ability to coax more ground balls, rather than hoping his “HRs per fly ball” ratio stays low enough. He needs tools to pitch well in band boxes, not just spacious confines, to thrive on hot days and not rely on a marine layer or friendly wind.

The obvious pitch to add is one Sears is incorporating into his 2024 repertoire and that is a 2-seam sinker. Some pitchers (Barry Zito comes to mind) used their changeup when they were seeking a DP bouncer.

However he does it, Estes has to improve upon the paltry 25.5% ground ball rate in his first 3 MLB starts. In his first 15 big league innings he has allowed 5 HRs, but that’s partly because so many balls are getting hit in the air. Last night, for example, Cal Raleigh got him but Julio Rodriguez just came up short.

Estes is rolling the dice too often with fly balls. The good news is he has the stuff to mix in a lot of strikeouts — now he just needs to keep a bit more of the contact on the infield.

I’m happy to report that in summarizing 3 relatively new, possibly key, contributors the Eyeball Scout has leaned positive on all 3. Butler is a quick learner and will improve over the course of the season, and Langeliers is hitting everything he hits hard, often far, while dropping his K rate 8% from last season (currently a very solid 21.4%).

In other words, for the first time in 3 years we see some actual building blocks and don’t be surprised if by year’s end we have seen Jacob Wilson complete a meteoric rise from college to the big leagues a la Wyatt Langford and Paul Skenes.

Your thoughts and observations on these pups? These are not the stars who will get the A’s back to the post-season, but they are complementary pieces that are essential for competitive teams to have. Somewhere, Marco Scutaro and Randy Velarde are smiling.