Another 'A' for the Oakland system in '05.
It was another banner year in that regard as the A's affiliates combined for a .545 winning percentage, one percentage point behind the top two organizations in baseball, San Francisco and Detroit. That's actually a drop from 2004, believe it or not, but every team except one (Kane County) finished over .500. Midland won the Texas League title and Vancouver played in the Northwest League championship while Stockton and Sacrmento also made playoff appearances.
Perhaps an argument can be made that this winning comes as a result of drafting all those college players, that the rosters at each level are often older than those of opponents. Of course, the A's aren't the only organization who uses a college-heavy approach; they just continue to do it better than most.
And they showed a willingness to change speeds this past draft, taking six high school pitchers (gasp!) in the first seven rounds. In the end, the goal is the same: produce Major League-ready talent quickly while creating a winning atmosphere. It's hard to argue with success, isn't it? The A's were surprise contenders in 2005 thanks to young talent brought to them via the draft and those huge offseason trades. And with Huston Street taking the AL Rookie of the Year, the A's have now had a hand in four straight youngsters earning that honor.
Five Faves At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2005:
Joe Blanton, RHP Well, that worked out well, didn't it? Blanton not only stuck in the A's rotation all year, he became one of their more reliable starters in the second half. After going 5-7 with a 4.44 ERA before the break (0-3, 13.25 in May), Blanton turned it around with a 7-5 record and a 2.65 ERA in the second half (his turnaround actually began in June, when he went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA). Pretty much everything for Blanton improved in the second half, from his walk rate, hit rate and strikeout rate to his batting average against. His 200 quality innings as a rookie were a big help in the A's hanging around the playoff race for as long as they did.
Dan Meyer, LHP Well, that didn't work out well, did it? Expected to join Blanton in the A's young rotation, Meyer pitched his way out of a job in Spring Training (7.78 ERA, 28 hits in 19 2/3 IP). He then spent the year in Sacramento and never got it figured out, finishing the season with a 5.36 ERA, allowing 101 hits in 89 IP while walking 43 and striking out just 63. He missed most of May and June with shoulder problems, and he made some improvement in July (3.81 ERA, 25 K's in 28 IP), but didn't finish strong and landed back on the DL with shoulder tightness in late August.
Dan Johnson, 1B The year began with Johnson stuck in the Minors, blocked by Erubiel Durazo and Scott Hatteberg. Rather than sulk, Johnson hit .324 with a .424 OBP and .549 SLG in 47 games before getting promoted in late May. Once up, thanks to Durazo's injury and Hatteberg's struggles, Johnson played and continued to do what he's done throughout his career: drive in runs and get on base. He finished with a .275 average thanks to a September slide, but still had a .355 OBP while driving in 58 runs behind 21 doubles and 15 homers.
Nick Swisher, OF The preseason favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, at least for some, had an up-and-down year. He missed most of May with a shoulder sprain, which didn't help him find any consistency. He did hit 21 homers and 32 doubles and managed to drive in 74 runs. He led all AL rookies in RBIs and tied Jonny Gomes for the HR lead. But he also only drew 55 walks for a .322 OBP, far off from the discipline he showed in 2004. He hit .236 overall for the year -- .226 in the second half and just .202 in September.
Daric Barton, 1B There's really nothing to criticize about Barton's first year in the A's system. Playing most of the season at age 19 (he turned 20 in August), Barton split duty between the Class A Advanced California League and the Double-A Texas League, where he was one of the youngest regulars in the circuit. Combined, Barton hit .317 with a .426 OBP (97 BB, only 79 strikeouts). He also hit 13 homers and 36 doubles, driving in 89 runs in total. And he hit .303 during Midland's march to the Texas League title. His days as a catcher are officially over, but he could be challenging Johnson at first in 2007, if not sooner.
Cinderella Story
Matt Allegra, OF The A's were hoping the 24-year-old who's been in the system since 2000 would have a Nelson Cruz-like breakout. Cruz, traded last year to Milwaukee, took a while to figure things out and really began putting it together at this age.
Allegra's 2004 was interrupted by injury so there was hope he'd click in Midland this year. But it wasn't meant to be. After hitting just .187 in 203 at-bats, he was sent back down to the California League (his third season at that level) and he hit .258 the rest of the way with a .478 SLG. He did hit 15 homers in 106 games between the two levels.
Breakout year
Quick hits on players who made more of a name for themselves with a big 2005 seasons.
Andre Ethier, OF: The 2003 second-rounder had a nice year in 2004, hitting .313, but had just seven homers in 99 games in the hitter-friendly California League. In 2005, Ethier took off, hitting .319 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs for Double-A Midland before finally getting bumped up to Sacremento for the PCL playoffs (where he hit .316 in five games). He won the Texas League All-Star Game Home Run Derby and the game's MVP award and was also named the league's Player of the Year. Ethier followed that up with a superb AFL season.
Dallas Braden, LHP: A 24th-round pick in 2004, Braden had shown some nice things with Vancouver in 2004. But the lefty out of Texas Tech really took off this year. Pitching in two hitter-friendly leagues -- Cal and Texas -- Braden combined to go 15-5 with a 3.52 ERA. He also struck out 135 in 140 2/3 IP while walking 43.
Connor Robertson, RHP: The expectation bar for 31st-round picks is understandably low. To say Roberston exceeded his is a huge understatement. The Birmingham-Southern product began the year with Low-A Kane County and ended with Triple-A Sacrmento. Overall, he appeared in 55 games out of the bullpen, posting a 2.76 ERA in 75 innings. The right-hander struck out 120, good for fourth in the organization, an astounding feat for a reliever.
Kevin Melillo, 2B: It's hard to say a guy who hit .340 in his pro debut after being drafted in 2004 (fifth round) can do anything to breakout from that, but Melillo managed to do just that. The second baseman spent the year with Kane County, Stockton and Midland, leading the organization in homers with 24, finsihing second in RBIs (93), fourth in steals (21) and sixth in batting average (.305). The .399 OBP and .535 SLG are also impressive numbers, particularly for a middle infielder.
Jared Burton, RHP: Another reliever in the making, Burton was arguably the best closer in the California League, racking up 24 saves in 26 opportunties while posting a 2.76 ERA and striking out 67 in 55 1/3 IP. The league hit just .212 against the Western Carolina product, who was taken back in the Moneyball draft (eighth round). Audio: Burton comes up with a big strikeout
2005 draft recap
1.Cliff Pennington, SS It's hard to comlain about a debut like Pennington's. The Texas A&M star hit .276 with a .364 OBP and an un-A's like 25 steals in just 69 games with Kane County before moving up to Stockton for the California League playoffs. Pennington's got outstanding makeup and skills, which should make him a fast climber through Oakland's system.
2. Travis Buck, OF The Arizona State product, taken in the supplemental first round, showed that he, too, might be ready for a fast track. Spending only nine games with Vancouver, where he hit .361, Buck joined Pennington in Kane County and hit .341 with a .427 OBP and 13 doubles in 32 games.
3. Craig Italiano, RHP One of the six high school pitchers the A's surprisingly took in the first seven rounds, Italiano barely got his feet wet. He threw just 18 2/3 innings in the rookie-level Arizona League but, with the help of his plus fastball, did strike out 27 in that span.
4. Jared Lansford, RHP Joining Italiano in the AZL, Carney's son tossed 21 1/3 outstanding innings. The high schooler had a 1.27 ERA, allowing just 16 hits and five walks while striking out 20.
5. Vin Mazzaro, RHP It took a while, but the A's finally signed the New Jersey high school product in early September, keeping the right-hander from honoring his commitment to St. John's University. The third-round pick obviously signed too late to play in the regular season, but went to the A's complex in Phoenix for instructional league play.
2004 draft recap
1. Landon Powell, C Powell missed the entire 2005 season recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during winter workouts.
2. Richie Robnett, OF Robnett came on at the end of the season, at least in the power department. Playing the year with Stockton, Robnett finished with 20 homers, 14 of which came after July 1. He also struck out 151 times in 457 at-bats.
3. Danny Putman, OF The Stanford product played in the Stockton outfield with Robnett, hitting .307 with an organization-leading 100 RBIs. He then moved up to Double-A Midland for the Texas League playoffs and played a large role in helping the RockHounds win it all by hitting .314 with five RBIs in nine games.
4. Huston Street, RHP There's fast track, then there's Street. The former Texas closer was the first player from the 2004 draft to make it to the big leagues. And he didn't just make it. He took over the closer role when Octavio Dotel got hurt and ended the year with 23 saves, a 1.72 ERA and a stingy .194 batting average against. In addition to being named the AL Rookie of the Year, he was also recently given a 2005 Players Choice Award as the American League's Most Outstanding Rookie.