Lefty Carlos Hernandez took off on a roll that went through three leagues and into the postseason. The kid who began in extended finished the year pitching the California League championship game and delivering in the clutch as high Class A Stockton won the league title.
For the first time, Jerry Blevins will focus on baseball during the offseason. Always before, he has been a working man.
At the age of 23, outfielder Ryan Sweeney has done enough to convince the A's that he could progress into a superior outfielder in the future, if he can stave off nagging injuries.
After the most miserable season of his life, it would be easy for Travis Buck to wallow in despair and curse his woes. Instead, Buck has taken the experience as one big lesson.
Former Phillies farmhand Josh Outman reverts to curveball and thrives
Casey Tefertiller selects the Athletics' end-of-season player and pitcher of the year, as well as a player to keep an eye on.
Sacramento pitching coach Rick Rodriguez helped Gio Gonzalez with both the mechanical and mental elements of the game. The lefthander had lacked confidence in his changeup, so he was pitching mostly with his plus curve and fastball.
Side-arming righthander Brad Ziegler established a big league record for a pure reliever with 39 consecutive scoreless innings, but just three months ago he wondered if he even had a future with the Athletics.
Almost from the beginning, Gregorio Petit showed the actions and abilities that indicated he could develop into a legitimate shortstop, but the big question always was whether he would hit enough.
A big league callup highlighted Wes Bankston's first season in the Athletics' system.
First baseman Sean Doolittle devoted his offseason to intensive weight training and came to camp far stronger than during his days at Virginia. The result was that in his first 79 games, he pounded 17 homers in batting .312/.392/.565 for high Class A Stockton.
At the age of 4, righthander Tyson Ross' parents had his baseball card made, wearing an Athletics jersey with a big "A" on his cap. Seventeen years later, he is back in gold and green as Oakland's second-round pick.
The Athletics may have provided a peek into the future of the organization, using a first-round pick on Miami second baseman Jemile Weeks, an athletic, basestealing speedster who projects as a future leadoff hitter.
The last two years were pretty much all agony, with no ecstasy, for shortstop Cliff Pennington. So Pennington spent much of the offseason undergoing extensive training at Phoenix-area Fischer Sports facility. The results were noticeable.
Lefthander Greg Smith's poise has been obvious since he first put on an Oakland uniform this season. He throws in the high 80s and relies on location and changing speeds, yet he had faced down big league hitters with no appearance of fear.
Nine months off the campus of North Carolina, shortstop Josh Horton looked around and found himself playing in major league parks. Though they were only exhibition games, the shortstop had a taste of what may well be his future.
Newly acquired lefthander Gio Gonzalez elicited rumbles of excitement through Athletics camp when they watched him work through the spring.
Outfielder Corey Brown, a supplemental first-round pick in 2007, made the most of a late promotion to big league camp.
When the Athletics decided to change the face of their organization, one new face was certain to draw much attention. Carlos Gonzalez was the most prominent player acquired from the Diamondbacks in the deal that sent ace Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks. The A's hope the multi-tooled Venezuelan outfielder will soon emerge as a middle-of-the-order hitter, able to hit for both power and average.
There were points when Jared Lansford wondered if he would ever come back. His injury was freakish and serious, with hope as the primary treatment.
Baseball America
