From Bob Melvin’s winter departure to the flurry of trades in the spring, this A’s season was always meant to be a transactional, transitional and trying time. The growing pains were expected.
Perhaps no player has personified the A’s process more than rookie Cristian Pache, the exciting center fielder whose hitting struggles earned him a ticket to Triple-A Las Vegas two weeks ago.
But what’s happened to Pache in Vegas means he won’t be staying in Vegas too much longer.
The 23-year-old is doing the sort of things the A’s envisioned when they acquired him from the Braves in the Matt Olson deal this spring – albeit at a minor league level. Coming into Wednesday night’s game, he’s hitting .364 with an OPS of 1.042 since being optioned to Vegas on June 30. Pache has a home run and seven RBIs in eight games.
As small sample sizes go, it’s been an astounding one for Pache, whose Triple-A batting line so far is at a superstar level — .364/.436/.606. His strikeout rate is 15% and his walk rate is 13%.
WE ARE TIED
Cristian Pache hits a 2-run homer and we’re on the board in the 1st pic.twitter.com/m7f3NgvGR2— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) July 13, 2022
As the headliner among all the spring training deals that shipped out stars Matt Chapman, Olson, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea, much was expected of Pache. In between dazzling plays in center field came the struggles at the plate that led to Pache’s ugly slash line of .159/.203/.224 through 68 games with the A’s.
His .159 batting average and .427 OPS were both the worst among all major league qualifiers.
When Pache was sent down, the A’s saw it as an opportunity for him to relax, catch his breath and focus on having consistently competitive at-bats.
“Not everyone gets here and has immediate success,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said after Pache was demoted. “It doesn’t mean you’re not going to come back and have success. Sometimes it takes longer for others to figure it out here. But I’m confident that he will.”
And, for a team that’s been stripped down during a near-total rebuild, patience is now a main commodity. The A’s entered Wednesday with the worst record in the majors (30-59), so the focus has to be beyond this season.
With the Aug. 2 trade deadline just three weeks away, the A’s are likely to continue trading players to secure future assets for a possible resurgence by 2024.
Frankie Montas? Ramón Laureano? Elvis Andrus? Sean Murphy? Tony Kemp? Who knows if any or all of them will still be here next month?
In the meantime, Pache represents one of the young and talented players A’s fans can expect to see in the second half of the season. Again, identifying and developing talent is Oakland’s prime objective these days.
Aside from Pache, here are three other A’s prospects who could find their way to Oakland for some meaningful playing time this season:
Shea Langeliers, catcher
Langeliers, who arrived from the Braves along with Pache in the Olson trade, has little to prove in the minor leagues. The strong-armed, power-hitting catcher remains in Triple-A because the A’s already have a catcher with a similar profile in Murphy.
It’s debatable whether Murphy, whose recent hot streak has boosted his average to .240 and his OPS to .720 as of Wednesday, will be traded in August. The reigning AL Gold Glove winner is arbitration eligible next season and won’t become a free agent until 2026. It probably makes sense for the A’s to continue to watch Murphy boost his stock and revisit a trade in the offseason, particularly if Willson Contreras, the top pending free agent catcher, is traded and signs a deal with his new team.
Either way, expect to see Langeliers in Oakland at some point this season, even if Murphy’s still here past the trade deadline. Langeliers could still catch 2-3 times per week in the majors while Murphy rests or slots in at designated hitter.
BANGELIERS
Top-ranked @Athletics prospect Shea Langeliers crushes his 15th home run for the @AviatorsLV: pic.twitter.com/Heq344fk51
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 10, 2022
Currently the A’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB.com, Langeliers is putting on weekly power displays in Triple-A while leading the Aviators with 16 home runs. He’s hitting .270 with an OPS of .872 while hitting in the middle of the Vegas lineup.
Max Schuemann, infield/outfield
One of the fastest risers in the A’s minor league system, Schuemann is a hard-nosed player who has the most intriguing blend of speed and versatility of their prospects.
The former 20th-round pick of the A’s 2018 draft, Schuemann earned a promotion to Triple-A this week by blazing his way through Texas League opponents with a slash line of .315/.447/.483. His .447 on-base percentage for Double-A Midland was third in the league.
After already tying his career high with seven home runs at Midland, the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Kid smashed a home run in his first game with Triple-A Las Vegas after being promoted this week.
Once he’s on base, Schuemann doesn’t stay put very long. After stealing 52 bases last year, Schuemann went 22-for-25 at Midland.
Schuemann’s main position is second base, where the A’s currently have Tony Kemp, Nick Allen, Sheldon Neuse, Jonah Bride and Vimael Machín as second base options. But Schuemann has already played every defensive position this year besides catcher, pitcher and first base. His best position may be center field, but with Pache (and Laureano) around, Schuemann wouldn’t spend much time there.
He might profile more as a utility player, but Schuemann’s style of play is intriguing enough to infuse a little excitement back into the A’s lineup.
Cody Thomas, outfield
A former star quarterback at the University of Oklahoma turned outfielder is the ultimate wild card for the A’s. Yes, we’ve heard this one before.
Unlike Kyler Murray, though, Thomas’ football playing days are long over. Plus, the A’s didn’t spend the No. 9 overall pick on Thomas like they did with Murray, who never played baseball after Arizona made him the top overall pick in the NFL draft.
The 27-year-old Thomas, who once lost his starting QB job to Baker Mayfield, came over from the Dodgers last year in a deal that sent current Athletic Neuse to L.A. Then, the 6-foot-4 Thomas began dominating so much in Triple-A for the A’s that he was seen as a potential starting outfielder in Oakland this year.
Those thoughts were torpedoed when Thomas suffered an Achilles injury late last season that ultimately required surgery before spring training. A’s trainer Nick Paparesta said last week Thomas’ recovery is going according to plan – he’s been hitting and throwing and is just beginning his running progression.
Although Paparesta and the A’s haven’t put a timetable on Thomas’ return, if all goes well there’s a chance he could see some time in Oakland.
What would Thomas bring to Oakland, aside from an intricate knowledge of the “Air Raid” offense? Speed and power, to begin with. He’s hit 99 home runs in his five minor league seasons. While with the A’s, Thomas blasted 18 home runs in just 59 games in Vegas last year while building a slash line of .289/.363/.665 and an OPS of 1.028.
