Call-Ups and Hang-Ups: Oakland A’s, Carter, Taylor, Wimberly, McPherson
By Wally Fish
Once again it is collaborative post time here on Call to the Pen. This month’s topic is September call-ups. To get the ball rolling, I posed the following question to each of our Lead Writers, “Which player do you want your team to call-up in September and why?” It is a simple question but I think you will find the responses to be very diverse.
Taking the path less traveled this month, I decided to post each team’s write-up individually instead of grouping them by league or division as we have done in the past. To mix things up further I decided to chime in with my own thoughts on each team.
Up 6th in our series is the Oakland Athletics. Representing Swingin’ A’s is the site’s Lead Writer Joseph Lopez. Check out what Joseph and I have to say after the jump.
Joseph’s Take*:
*A quick “editorial” note: Joseph did his write-up and sent it to me on the 24th. Carter was placed on the minor league disabled list on August 28th with a left thumb strain. Joseph is aware of this, but I wanted to share his thoughts in their original format though I have updated all the statistical reference to be current at the time this is published.
With August coming to a close, the A’s are standing on the fringe of contention in the AL West due to their bright young pitching. The rotation that includes Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro is starting to mature into something big. Forget the “Big Three,” because Oakland has a “Big Five” in the making.
Despite their strong efforts, however, the A’s still are in need of some offensive production. While the team boasts the best ERA in the AL (3.48), the offense has not provided much support. Heading into Tuesday, the A’s have team 0.256/.322/.376 line and rank last in home runs with just 81 total. Despite these discouraging numbers on offense, however, the team may have some relief on the way. Next month, when rosters expand, the A’s could have guys like Chris Carter and Michael Taylor up with the big-league team.
Personally, I’d like to see more of Chris Carter, who was up with the team earlier this month for six games. In those games, Carter did not produce the kind of numbers we’ve grown accustomed to. In 19 at-bats, Carter went hitless and struck out 9 times. In 465 at-bats this season in Triple-A, however, Carter has hit 0.258/.365/.529 with 31 home runs and 94 RBIs. Although he’s a notoriously slow starter, Carter has the athletic abilities to be a big star in the league for years to come. If I had to pick between Carter and Taylor, I’d choose Carter.
Carter represents the best power option for Oakland right now, and that’s what the A’s need. They need to have the type of guy who can provide some “pop” in the heart of the order. Taylor, who was acquired during the whole Cliff Lee-Roy Halladay trade, is a talented outfielder who has great potential as well. However, he hasn’t hit for very much power right now. In 433 at-bats this season with Triple-A Sacramento, Taylor is batting 0.263/.342/.381 with 5 home runs and 72 RBI.
So, for the sake of this particular post, the A’s best option remains Carter. The team should give the talented young slugger another shot this season so that he can come into next season with some kind of experience. Although, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they ended up calling both Carter and Taylor, would it?
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My Take:
Prior to the thumb injury (which may cause the A’s to shut him down for the rest of the season) Carter was the logical choice for a September audition. Injury aside, there are some red flags here. First is the significant drop off in BA and OBP between his time in Double-A last season and his time in Triple-A (13 games in 2009 and all of 2010 outside of his 19 major league ABs). It’s not unusual for a player to see a dip in his slash stats when moving up in the levels of the minors but this isn’t your typical dip. He went from 0.337/.435/.576 with the Midland Rockhounds (AA) to 0.258/.358/.528 with the Sacramento River Cats. Again, that’s not your typical dip. Still the power has been a constant and, as Joseph mentioned, if there is one thing the A’s are lacking right now it’s some thunder in the lineup. Along those lines Carter has averaged 31 home runs per year over the last 4 seasons.
Carter is injured and Taylor has taken a huge step back and doesn’t appear to be ready. So where to the A’s turn?
My personal choice would be to give 26-year old speedster Corey Wimberly a look. In 587 PA he has hit 0.282/.372/.350 with 50 SB, 55 BB and 62 SO. In his career, he has experience playing CF, LF, 2B, 3B and SS though he has primarily played LF and CF this season. Of course Wimberly, and his 10 career HR in 6 minor league seasons, doesn’t address the team’s need for power.
Along those lines, the A’s could turn to 30-year old Dallas McPherson. Back in 2004 and 2005, Dallas was solidly in the top-100 in the prospect rankings and reached as high as #12 according to Baseball America. He got a taste of the big leagues in 2004-2006 with the Angels and again in 2008 with the Marlins but has been unable to stick. Much of that has to do with his 807 SO and 339 BB in almost 3,000 minor league plate appearances. I don’t believe he will ever break through in the bigs, but he has hit 0.270/.342/.546 with 22 HR this season. With the A’s 7.5 games back in the AL West, rewarding McPherson with another big league audition would be understandable. He may not be able to help the A’s beyond this season, but perhaps they can help him land his next job in another organization.
Ignoring the pitching side of the equation the A’s have three options. Call-up a struggling but ultra-talented 24-year old OF in Michael Taylor, call-up a 26-year old OF with great speed, good plate discipline and no power in Corey Wimberly, or call-up a one time top 1B/3B prospect with a ton of power but no mastery of the strike zone in Dallas McPherson.
Actually there is a 4th option and that is to call-up all 3 players and see how things shake out.