The Oakland Athletics 2011 Spring Training Schedule is rapidly coming to a close as the A’s have only a week left of exhibition play, including three games against the Giants in the Bay Area. As the Cactus League wraps up, it seems like a useful exercise to take a look at the top offensive performers for the A’s in spring training. While spring training stats have to be taken with a certain grain of salt, they can give fans reason for hope. These batters aren’t the only ones having solid springs, but are simply a few we wanted to highlight.
Coco Crisp – Over the course of 42 at bats, the speedy Crisp has shown a power flair courtesy of numerous extra base hits. Heading into today’s game with the Cubs, Crisp had a line of .429/.467/.883. The slugging percentage comes courtesy of three homeruns, four doubles, and two triples. Crisp has always had a lit bit of extra base pop in his bat. The A’s will not be looking for huge home run numbers from their table-setter, but a little extra pop makes him all the more dangerous. More importantly, the A’s simply want Crisp to remain healthy. If he can remain healthy he could be as big to the A’s offense as any of the offseason additions.
Chris Carter – Last season’s call-up had a rough start to his big league career, going 0-for-33. However, from his first hit in September to the end of the season (37 at bats), Carter hit .351. He’s dealt with strikeout issues and fielding issues, but the strong close was hopefully a step forward for Carter. This spring he’s shown improved plate discipline with 12 walks to 10 strikeouts. Although his batting average is .256, he’s got a .418 on base percentage and a .488 slugging percentage. It still sounds like he’ll start the season in Sacramento, but he has something upon which to build moving forward.
Kevin Kouzmanoff – The sometimes light-swinging third baseman has been quite strong this spring with a line of .364/.408/.523. Kouzmanoff was tendered a contract but the odds of him being non-tendered in 2012 increased after a poor 2010 campaign. He’s likely on the hot seat this season, so we’ll see if he can carry the strong spring into April.