By Tim Byrnes
The midway point of the A’s 2025 season occurred in game one of the series versus the Detroit Tigers.
The Athletics have reached the halfway point of the season (32-49), a mere three-game improvement from last season in Oakland (29-52).
As a team, the A’s bats are a Top 5 club. They lead the American League in hits and are second in MLB.
The A’s are fourth in the AL in doubles and home runs, fifth in triples, and sixth in batting average.
The issue they have is they are middle of the pack in driving runs in and are slumping as a team in the power department of late.
A’s Pitching in 2025 is a disaster, as they are last in MLB in nearly every major pitching category. Poor managerial decisions and young arms aren’t a good combination.
Individually, the midpoint has some solid play by multiple Athletics.
Rookie SS Jacob Wilson was batting (.353) with 104 hits in just under 300 at-bats. This was second only to NYY Aaron Judge in both statistics in MLB.
Having such a high average as a rookie, with this many at-bats, is rare, and A’s ownership better sign him now!
Right fielder Lawrence Butler is second in doubles in the majors with (23).
First baseman Tyler Soderstrom and DH/RF Brent Rooker have both broke 40 RBIs on the year, and all are on pace for solid seasons.
Athletics Batting:
The power struggle versus Cleveland carried over into the Detroit Series with a dismal six extra-base hits total over both series.
1B Nick Kurtz was all that was needed in game 2 against the Tigers when he went 3-for-3 with another monster home run(438 ft). Kurtz added a run, a walk, and his three RBIs accounted for all the runs scored on the day.
Playing in only about half the games due to a recent call-up, Kurtz is still second among all rookies in home runs with (11) and has hit six in the last eleven games.
Soderstrom was on an 8-for-18, five-game hitting streak when Kotsay decided to sit him and RF Lawrence Butler in the series finale.
Both had hits in the first two games of the series, and benching them seemed a counterproductive move.
Equally puzzling was his decision to not only play Max Muncy at third base while opening day third baseman Gio Urshela (back off 10-day IL) was put at first base, but Muncy batted cleanup while currently hitting sub-Mendoze line (.195).
It’s an odd choice, considering he was in a 3-for-23 slump. Nearly the entire team was better qualified to bat cleanup, and it’s another managerial oddity from Kotsay.
Athletics Pitching:
In the A’s lone win, LHP Jacob Lopez teamed up with Michael Kelly and Mason Miller to throw a combined four-hit, 3-0 shutout.
With Lopez going seven innings for the win, he is now (2-0, .82 era) in his last four starts.
Reliever Kelly has yet to give up a run after his one inning in his seventh appearance since his June 5th call-up.
Reliever TJ McFarland needs to be discussed, as it has become clear he is not a success when throwing twenty pitches or more.
In all five appearances this season where his pitch count exceeded twenty, he gave up earned runs. Over the last two seasons, nine of the eleven times he went over that pitch count, he gave up earned runs.
He is proving to be at his best when he comes in to pick up one or two outs and keeps the count around twelve pitches.
Upcoming Series:
The AL East leading New York Yankees (46-34) host the Athletics (33-50) in a weekend showdown in the Bronx.
The Yankees hold a 2-1 season series edge after all three games in West Sacramento were high-scoring blowouts.
Statistically, the conditions are similar to those of the May series, with both teams facing top-hitting clubs.
Both Judge(.361) and Wilson (.345) are slowly coming back to the rest of the league as the law of averages tries to bring them back to the reality of a 162-game season.
They are still one or two in MLB in batting average.
The A’s pitching staff has an era nearly two full runs more than New York which makes wins difficult.
Gametime:
Athletics RHP Mitch Spence (2-2, 3.84) versus RHP Will Warren (4-3, 2.84)
June 27, 2025, 405pm
Yankees Stadium, Bronx, NY
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